COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies had no staff retained on zero-hour contracts in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
	In 2012-13 the Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies had no staff retained on zero-hour contracts and the core Department had two.
	One of these was Sir Ken Knight, chief fire and rescue adviser. He moved on to a zero-hour contract on 1 November 2012. This was a short-term arrangement so that the Department still had access to professional advice until a new appointment had been made, and to enable Sir Ken Knight to complete the efficiencies review of the fire and rescues in England.
	Sir Ken's replacement, Peter Holland, started in the Department on 28 January 2013, and Sir Ken worked on the handover of role and on the efficiencies review until his departure on 21 June 2013.
	The other member of staff was a short-term, fixed appointment who was retained on a zero-hour contract for 30-days over a period of three months to take lead responsibility for finalising and sign off the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation accounts following closure. The arrangement ended on 31 May 2013.

Electronic Commerce

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's policy is on mitigating the effects of e-commerce on UK high street retailers.

Mark Prisk: Electronic and mobile commerce is changing consumer preferences on how and where they shop. This is changing the nature of retail, and thereby the nature of the high street. However it is not a matter of internet versus high street; it is both a challenge, and an opportunity. The high street can offer so much more: a bustling centre to a community, where people can gather for cultural, entertainment and social activities, as well as shopping, eating, and evening activities.
	It is vital that high streets and the retailers who trade there develop their own strategies to adapt to the massive structural changes that they face. Many small businesses and independent retailers are trading very successfully online, and many have grown as a result of trading this way. We should recognise that changing technologies have benefited consumers, in the form of greater choice, more convenience and competitive prices. This should be welcomed rather than something to be denigrated.
	This Government have acted to close down the VAT loophole that some online retailers in the Channel Islands were using unfairly to compete against UK-based businesses.
	This continues to be an evolving area, and one in which the role of government is as an enabler. The UK has some of the most competitive and innovative retailers in the world, and it is right that they are free to deliver what customers want. Retailers who are not responsive to that will struggle.
	The Association of Town and City Management is leading a £1 million, two-year programme of work funded by DCLG to support and develop high streets and town centres, providing support on business planning, offering advice and developing 'how to' guides. The programme is designed to develop high streets fit for the 21st century, and will look at how communities can plan to meet their changing needs.
	The Future High Streets Forum brings together leaders from retail, property, business, academies, voluntary sector, civil society and Government to better understand the competition town centres across the country face, and to drive forward new ideas and policies to help the high street compete and adapt. Groups within the forum will look at detailed and practical work in areas such as consolidating research on high street trends.

Housing Act 2004

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the rate of prosecution for failure to comply with a notice issued under section 35 of the Housing Act 2004.

Mark Prisk: An assessment of the rate of prosecutions has not been made. Local authorities have extensive powers to tackle poor property conditions in their area, including being able to prosecute landlords who fail to repair properties that are in a hazardous condition. We encourage local authorities to use those powers where appropriate. Prosecution is generally a last resort undertaken where the landlord has failed to comply with an improvement notice or prohibition order and is not necessarily a good indication of the scale or effectiveness of enforcement action.

Out of Town Shopping Centres: Planning Permission

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many requests for planning permission for out-of-town retail developments within 10 miles of Portas pilot towns his Department has received in each of the last three years.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 1 July 2013
	The vast majority of planning applications are made to local planning authorities. The Department does not therefore hold the detailed information requested. The official statistics collected include information on total planning permissions granted by local planning authorities but these are not disaggregated by location.

Retail Trade: Debts

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of current levels of property indebtedness in the high street retail sector.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 1 July 2013
	We do not collect these data.
	The findings from the Distressed Retail Property Taskforce are expected in the autumn. This should provide valuable insights into the key challenges associated with high street property. Government will be looking at these findings to inform ongoing work.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for how long the Future High Streets Forum is expected to run.

Mark Prisk: As agreed at its first meeting, the forum will meet approximately every three months up to April 2015.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how his Department intends to promote the work and recommendations of the Future High Streets Forum.

Mark Prisk: All minutes and papers related to the forum are published on the departmental website. The forum will work together to promote its work and recommendations, and ensure that it is successful in driving forward new ideas and solutions.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects the Future High Streets Forum's practical toolkit to be published.

Mark Prisk: The Future High Streets Forum was established in March 2013, and brings together leaders across retail, property and business to better understand the competition faced by town centres across the country and drive forward new ideas and policies. The forum has established three task and finish groups, one of which has committed to creating a compelling vision of what the town centre and high street of the future will look like, supported by templates (previously referred to as a toolkit) that can be used by individual towns to develop their local visions.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the cost of the Future High Streets Forum.

Mark Prisk: The Future High Streets Forum was established in March 2013 and brings together leaders across retail, property and business to better understand the competition faced by town centres across the country and drive forward new ideas and policies. All members are giving their time unpaid. There are therefore no costs currently associated with the forum.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria were used to decide the membership of the Future High Streets Forum.

Mark Prisk: The Future High Streets Forum was established in March 2013 and brings together leaders across retail, property and business to better understand the competition faced by town centres across the country and drive forward new ideas and policies. It is co-chaired by me and Alliance Boots executive Alex Gourlay. The membership reflects individual expertise as well as seeking to achieve a balanced representation across retail, property, business, academics, voluntary sector, civil society and government.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the membership of the task and finish groups of the Future High Streets Forum will be.

Mark Prisk: The Future High Streets Forum has established three task and finish groups, with membership at their first meetings as follows:
	Task and Finish Group 1, looking at supporting local leadership: the Association of Town and City Management, British BIDs, Business in the Community, the Co-operative, Costa Coffee at Whitbread, the Federation of Small Businesses, Gloucester (GFirst) Local Enterprise Partnership, the Local Government Association, the National Market Traders Federation, the National Skills Academy for Retail, Post Office Ltd.
	Task and Finish Group 2, looking at barriers and enablers to success: the Association of Convenience Stores, the Association of Market Towns, the Association of Town and City Management, Boots, the British Council of Shopping Centres, the British Independent Retailers Association, the British Property Federation, Dartford Council, Enterprise Nation, John Lewis Partnership, Live Unlimited, Locality, the National Association of British Market Authorities, Stanhope plc.
	Task and Finish Group 3, looking at research and the future of the high street: the Association of Town and City Management, the British Retail Consortium, Colliers International, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department of Communities and Local Government, Portas Agency, Southampton University, Tesco, Vodafone.
	The chairman of each task and finish group may change the membership as required to respond to changing priorities in the future.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 6 June 2013, Official Report, columns 113-5WS, on onshore wind (local planning), if he will expedite the publication of the planning guidelines referred to in that statement.

Mark Prisk: We will publish the new practice guidance shortly. Notwithstanding, we have already written to local authorities and the Planning Inspectorate to draw their attention to the new approach outlined in the written ministerial statement of 6 June 2013, Official Report , columns 113-5WS, to assist them in their consideration of current and future planning applications.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Common Fisheries Policy

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the UK fishing industry has received from (a) the Government and (b) the Common Fisheries Policy in the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: Since 1 January 2000 the UK fishing industry has benefited from financial assistance from two European Union funding schemes that have been set up to support the delivery of the Common Fisheries Policy, and associated matched funding from central Government and other public bodies such as local authorities.
	In the UK, many elements of fisheries management are devolved and therefore funded by devolved Administrations.
	The table outlines how much funding the English(1) fishing industry has received.
	(1) The information provided is limited to England as full data for the UK are not held centrally as both FIFG (Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance) and the EFF (European Fisheries Fund) are devolved schemes in the UK.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Scheme European Union Funding Central Government funding (DEFRA) Other public funding (e.g. local authorities) Total 
			 FIFG(1) 31.274 8.126 15.973 55.373 
			 EFF(2) 14.214 9.436 2.006 25.656 
			 Total 45.488 17.562 17.979 81.029 
			 (1) The Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance Scheme—covered the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2006 and was succeeded by the European Fisheries Fund. (2) The European Fisheries Fund—covering the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 and will be succeeded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Richard Benyon: There is no record of any contract or spend with MITIE by core DEFRA during this period.

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA has a contract with Vodafone under the Government procurement services framework arrangement RM526/L1 for Mobile Solutions II and a contract with Orange Personal Communications Ltd.
	Vodafone is the main provider for mobile phone and data services to core DEFRA. Orange provides these services where the Vodafone coverage is weak.
	The current contract arrangements are in place until 30 March 2015 for Vodaphone and 16 January 2014 for Orange.

Sea Level: Poole

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the expected long-term sea level rise in Poole Bay; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) provide the current assessment of long-term sea level rise. Although the recent measured rise in sea level has been about 1.5 mm each year we estimate that by the end of this century it will be rising by 10 mm each year. By 2060 we expect sea levels to be at least 200 mm higher and probably over 400 mm higher, than they were in 1990. Sea levels could be over 700 mm higher by 2100.
	Shoreline Management Plans (SMP) provide a large-scale assessment of the physical risks associated with coastal processes and present a long-term policy framework to reduce these risks. The SMP covering Poole Bay concluded that most of the developed coastline should continue to be defended, although some defences may need to be moved or altered. It also recognised the uncertainty about how some areas, in particular around Poole harbour mouth, will evolve.

Water Supply

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure the UK's future water supplies are protected.

Richard Benyon: There are a range of controls in place in the UK to prevent contamination of water resources.
	The Water Bill, introduced into the House of Commons on 27 June, will help to reduce the risks and pressures placed on our water supplies by encouraging new companies to enter the water sector. These new companies: might offer new water sources or innovative ways for dealing with waste water; will make it easier for water companies to trade water with each other, increasing flexibility in the system particularly during periods of drought; and will make it easier for owners of small-scale water storage who have excess capacity to sell water into the water supply market.
	The Bill also places a new duty on the Secretary of State, the Welsh Ministers and Ofwat to work to improve resilience. This may include promoting long-term planning and appropriate investment and the full range of appropriate measures to manage water resources and to secure effectual drainage; for example, relevant activities to reduce consumer demand and to ensure the effective management of water resources both within the network and in the wider water environment.
	Furthermore water companies have a statutory duty to maintain adequate supplies of wholesome water and are currently consulting on their new long-term water resources management plans for the period 2015-40. All of this will help to ensure that the UK's future water supplies are protected.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Rehabilitation

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to maximise the number of patients offered alcohol-related treatment or referral to a support service.

Anna Soubry: Public Health England (PHE) is the new executive agency of the Department of Health with the role of supporting local authorities responsible for public health. Provision of alcohol treatment is the responsibility of local authorities, which commission interventions to meet assessed local needs.
	PHE will support local authorities through its work programme which includes a range of actions such as:
	implementation of the alcohol health check in line with guidance;
	significant expansion of identification and brief advice for alcohol problems across the health (particularly in primary care) and social care and criminal justice sectors;
	promoting effective models of hospital-based alcohol services, working in liaison with specialist community treatment services;
	increased involvement of primary care in providing alcohol interventions; and
	improving the targeting and accessibility of specialist alcohol treatment services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance (including using primary care as access point for entry into treatment, or providing treatment interventions).

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not routinely collect data on the cost of processing invoices for payment.
	All invoices received by the Department are paid electronically. This has been the case since August 2006. No cheque payments have been made since that date.

Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will work with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations to issue a UK-wide campaign on the signs and symptoms of cancer.

Anna Soubry: There are no plans for a United Kingdom-wide signs and symptoms campaign on cancer. Public Health England works closely with the devolved Administrations to ensure consistency of messaging on campaigns.

Cancer: Drugs

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on plans to introduce a value-based pricing system for medicines currently funded by the Cancer Drugs Fund;
	(2)  if he will estimate the saving to the NHS of introducing a value-based pricing system for medicines currently funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund;
	(3)  what representations he has received regarding the transition arrangements for medicines currently funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund, when the fund ceases operation in 2014.

Norman Lamb: Value-based pricing will focus primarily on new medicines; therefore no estimate of any savings relating to medicines currently funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund has been made.
	It is possible that a small number of existing drugs could be assessed under value-based pricing. However, we expect any such cases to be exceptional, and it is not our intention routinely to re-assess under value-based pricing treatments already appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
	We have received a number of representations from hon. Members, noble Lords, members of the public, patient groups and the pharmaceutical industry with regard to the future of the fund.

Childbirth

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies were born in each consultant-led and midwife-led maternity unit in England in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected in the format requested. Information regarding maternity deliveries by type of hospital ward for each hospital trust in England for 2010-11 and 2011-12 is set out in tables which have been placed in the Library.

David Nicholson

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health of which pension scheme Sir David Nicholson is a member in respect of his employment by the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: Sir David Nicholson is a member of the premium scheme within the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Death: Social Class

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of social class on the likely incidence of death due to (a) cancer, (b) heart disease and (c) other causes.

Anna Soubry: The 2010 strategic review of health inequalities in England “(Fair Society, Healthy Lives)” led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot observed a social gradient in health—the lower the person's social position, the worse his or her health. There is a clear social gradient in the incidence of both cancer and circulatory disease (heart disease and stroke), and in other diseases. Cancer represents around half of all deaths in the under 75s. Cardio-vascular disease is the largest single cause of long-term ill health and disability. The burden of disease falls disproportionately on people living in deprived conditions.
	The call to action to reduce avoidable premature mortality in the under 75s “(Living Well for Longer, 2013)” aims to reduce avoidable mortality in the five big killer diseases across the social gradient, to match the best in Europe.. These diseases are cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory and liver disease. The call to action confirms this social gradient in each of these major causes of premature death. For example, more than twice as many people from the poorest backgrounds die of circulatory disease as those from the most affluent backgrounds.
	This call to action is a priority for the new health system and builds on current work such as the National Cancer Equality Initiative, which makes it clear that tackling health inequality is essential to improving outcomes and achieving cancer survival rates that match the best performing countries in the world; and the NHS and public health outcomes frameworks. Working in partnership across the system, we will improve access to healthcare and treatment and tackle unhealthy lifestyles—such as smoking, obesity and physical inactivity, which also show a social gradient—while addressing the social determinants of health across Government.
	The 2012 Health and Social Care Act introduced the first ever, statutory health inequalities duties. The duties on NHS England and clinical commissioning groups include consideration of the need to reduce inequalities in both access to health services and the outcomes achieved and will make tackling health inequalities central to the functioning of the national health service.

Epilepsy: Pregnant Women

Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of pregnant women between the ages of 18 to 54 taking anti-epileptic drugs received information and counselling about contraception and conception in 2012.

Anna Soubry: This information is not held centrally.
	Clinicians are responsible for meeting the individual health care needs of their patients, and would be expected to provide high-quality contraception and conception advice to patients with epilepsy as part of their programme of care.

Epilepsy: Pregnant Women

Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the advice on training given to prescribing physicians under the quality and outcomes framework on the effect of anti-epileptic medications during pregnancy.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produce guidance which sits alongside the quality and outcomes framework on the prescribing of anti-epileptic drugs during pregnancy. NHS England has advised that it would expect clinicians to follow NICE guidance. The guidance can be found at:
	http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG137
	In addition, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists runs a training programme for clinicians which includes modules on prescribing anti-epileptic medicine during pregnancy.

General Practitioners

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that documents and pamphlets which are available from GP surgeries and health centres are clear and easy to read.

Daniel Poulter: As independent contractors, it is for general practitioner (GP) practices to ensure any information they produce for their patients is in a format which is clear and easy to read.
	The contracts under which GPs provide national health service primary medical services require practices to comply with all relevant legislation, including the requirements in the Equality Act 2010 regarding the provision of information in an accessible format in certain circumstances.
	If a patient has difficulty in accessing any documents provided by the practice they may raise the matter with the practice informally or formally through the NHS complaints process.

Health

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many companies are signed up to the calorie reduction pledge in the Responsibility Deal.

Anna Soubry: Thirty-four companies are currently signed up as partners to the Responsibility Deal calorie reduction pledge. We are seeking further sign up to the pledge from across all sectors of the food industry, in particular businesses providing food in out-of-home settings.
	Signatories to the calorie reduction pledge can be found at:
	https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/pledges/pledge/?pI=23

Health

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what budget has been allocated for the delivery of the public health responsibility deal.

Anna Soubry: In 2013-14 the Department has allocated funding of up to £200,000 to cover costs relating to the central running of the Public Health Responsibility Deal.
	Implementation of the responsibility deal pledges will be carried out by partner organisations and the costs of doing this will be incurred by these organisations.

Health

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on achieving the calorie reduction pledge in the responsibility deal; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The responsibility deal calorie reduction pledge enables business to contribute to our challenge to the nation, issued as part of the “Call to action on obesity in England” in 2011, to reduce total calorie consumption by 5 billion calories a day.
	In total, 34 companies have made commitments so far under the pledge and are taking steps such as product and menu reformulation, reviewing portion sizes, education and information initiatives, and actions to shift the marketing mix towards lower calorie options. It is not possible to measure the exact contribution of business's actions to changes in consumers' calorie consumption.
	Departmental Ministers and officials are currently engaged in discussions with food producers, retailers and others to help ensure the largest number of companies make credible commitments against the pledge.
	Details of companies' annual updates on how they are helping to deliver the calorie reduction pledge are available at:
	https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/pledges/pledge/?pI=23

Health

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are employed for the delivery of the public health responsibility deal.

Anna Soubry: The responsibility deal is supported by a central programme team which consists of four full-time equivalent members of staff employed to support its delivery.
	The networks receive support from the obesity and food, alcohol, health at work and physical activity policy teams as required.

Hospitals: Mergers

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS hospitals (a) are considering mergers and (b) have merged since the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Anna Soubry: The information is not held by the Department centrally.
	The NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) has advised that it is working with 14 national health service trusts on some form of organisational transaction (potentially a merger or acquisition). These organisations are:
	North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust
	South London Healthcare NHS Trust
	Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
	Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust
	Northwest London Hospitals NHS Trust
	Ealing Hospitals NHS Trust
	Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust
	West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust
	Bedford Hospital NHS Trust
	Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
	George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust
	Wye Valley NHS Trust
	Weston Area Health NHS Trust
	North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
	The NHS TDA has confirmed that no NHS trust mergers have taken place since the organisation became fully operational on 1 April 2013.
	Monitor has advised me that it is aware of four foundation trusts (FTs) that are formally engaged with regulatory authorities on a merger or have made a submission to Monitor.
	These are:
	The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch NHS FT and Poole NHS FT
	Medway NHS FT with Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
	Kings College Hospital NHS FT and Princess Royal Hospital (part of South London NHS Trust)

Human Tissue Act 2004

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce extraterritorial jurisdiction to the Human Tissue Act 2004.

Anna Soubry: We have no current plans to bring forward such proposals.

Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: Information held by the Department for the financial year 2012-13 shows the Department spent £3,536,934 on external lawyers.

Medical Detection Dogs

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the role of medical detection dogs; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: Although there is interest in the concept of using dogs for medical detection purposes, there is not yet an established level of evidence to support the systematic application of their use within the national health service at this time.

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's mobile telephones and mobile data services are provided by Vodaphone through our contract with our current information, communication and technology service providers, Computer Sciences Corporation.

NHS England

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Barbara Hakin's appointment as interim chief operating officer and deputy chief executive of NHS England in March 2013 (a) required and (b) received ministerial approval.

Daniel Poulter: The appointment of Barbara Hakin as interim chief operating officer and deputy chief executive of NHS England in March 2013 did not require ministerial approval.

NHS England

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the roles of interim chief operating officer and deputy chief executive of NHS England were subject to the required processes in respect of (a)  advertising and (b) interviewing.

Daniel Poulter: Appointments to the roles of chief operating officer and deputy chief executive are the responsibility of NHS England. NHS England advises that the interim appointment in March 2013 of Barbara Hakin to the post of chief operating officer and deputy chief executive was in line with its policy on making interim appointments. This does not require external advertising or interview where a suitable internal candidate has been identified.

NHS: Managers

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues to the NHS on avoiding conflicts of interest in making managerial appointments.

Daniel Poulter: National health service organisations have robust arrangements for addressing possible conflicts of interest in making managerial appointments based on long-standing guidance issued by the Department.
	In 1994, revised in 2002 and 2004, the ‘Code of Conduct for NHS Boards’ required that board directors declare any
	“personal or business interest which may influence, or may be perceived to influence, their judgement”
	and that
	“when a conflict of interest is established, the board director should...play no part in the relevant discussion or decision”.
	In 2002, the ‘Code of Conduct for NHS managers’ for inclusion in employment contracts included the principle that NHS managers
	“be honest and act with integrity”
	and that they uphold the best interests of the public and patients/clients in decision making and that decisions are not improperly influenced by gifts or inducements.
	In 2003, ‘Governing the NHS: A guide for NHS Boards’ required that board members register personal financial interests.

Obesity

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, (b) the British Medical Association and (c) NHS trusts on the quality and outcome framework indicators on obesity.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not discussed the introduction of new obesity indicators into the Quality and Outcomes Framework with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the British Medical Association or NHS trusts. This is because NICE is responsible for managing the independent process for developing and reviewing the evidence base for the Quality and Outcomes Framework clinical and public health related indicators. NICE'S independent advisory committee recommends new indicators or changes to existing indicators.
	NHS Employers then negotiate with the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association on which of the published indicators should be applied nationally and what the financial value and payment thresholds for those indicators should be. NHS Employers negotiates on behalf of NHS England and the devolved Administrations.

Obesity

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has (a) carried out and (b) commissioned studies on a link between school sports participation and lowered obesity levels and physical inactivity.

Anna Soubry: The Department funds the Change4Life sports club programme in schools. The programme is independently evaluated by Canterbury and Christchurch University—sport, physical education and activity research centre. The evaluation reported that the Change4Life clubs effectively target and engage the least active children (those not achieving the UK Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines). The programme impacts on physical activity levels of young people. In the first year of the programme the numbers of non-sporty young people now choosing to take part in sport each week increased by 166%.
	The Department has not carried out or commissioned any studies specifically looking at a link between school sports participation and obesity.

Patients

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps have been taken to deliver the NHS mandate objective of making rapid progress in the measuring of, and action upon, the patient experience.

Daniel Poulter: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 25 June 2013, Official Report, columns 212-13W.

Tobacco: Packaging

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to announce the outcome of his consultation on plain packaging for tobacco products.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Richard Burden) on 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 181W.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officer’s Departments spend on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Oliver Heald: The information requested is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 £ 
			  TSol AGO HMCPSI CPS 
			 2008-09 — 18,583 — 74,736 
			 2009-10 — — — 77,778 
			 2010-11 — — 5,225 32,721 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 — — 5,280 1,102 
			 2012-13 70,791 — — 53,571 
		
	
	The Serious Fraud Office has not incurred any expenditure with the MITIE group during this period.

Private Prosecutions

Simon Hart: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  how many private prosecutions were brought in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many private prosecutions were brought in England and Wales by the RSPCA in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many such prosecutions (a) led to guilty pleas or convictions after trial, (b) resulted in an absolute discharge and (c) resulted in a conditional discharge.

Jeremy Wright: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	Further to my hon. Friend's letter of 23 May officials in the Ministry of Justice are currently establishing what, if any, information is held centrally which identifies the prosecuting authority in each case.
	I will write to my hon. Friend when this work is complete.

Serco

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officer’s Departments currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has spent £4,703 with Serco group companies since 2008-09. During this time Serco has supplied facilities management services including waste removal and minor works. Current expenditure is approximately £1,000 per annum. The following table summarises total expenditure with Serco group companies for each financial year since 2008-09.
	
		
			  £ 
			 2008-09 478 
			 2009-10 1,000 
			 2010-11 1,067 
			 2011-12 979 
			 2012-13 878 
		
	
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department records show only one payment made to Serco Ltd during this period, which was for £50 in 2008-09.
	The remaining Law Officer's Departments have not incurred any expenditure with Serco Ltd since 2008.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Security

Philip Hollobone: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many security passes allowing entry to the parliamentary estate are in existence (a) in total, (b)  for hon. Members' staff, (c) for House of Commons staff and (d) of other types.

John Thurso: The following security passes allowing entry to the parliamentary estate were on issue on 25 June 2013:
	(a) Total: 14,655
	(b) For hon. Members’ staff: 1,789
	(c) For House of Commons staff: See below
	(d) Other types: 10,873.
	The number of passes on issue to House of Commons staff cannot easily be identified from pass office records as they cannot necessarily be readily distinguished from other parliamentary staff and contractors with the same category of pass. However at 30 April the headcount of House of Commons staff was 2,017.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount was collected in (a) class A, (b) class B, (c) class C and (d) class D air passenger duty in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Sajid Javid: The published statistics on air passenger duty (APD), including the total amount of tax collected by year, are available online here:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx
	A breakdown of total receipts by APD distance band is not available.

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Sajid Javid: The average cost of processing an invoice for Treasury Group in 2011-12 was £6.28. Of the 8,595 invoices processed in this period 98.8% were paid electronically with the remaining 1.2% paid by cheque.
	These are the latest figures available.

Charities: Investment

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the accounts of common investment funds are publicly available.

Sajid Javid: The accounts of a common investment fund are made available by the appointed investment fund manager of the fund.

Employee Ownership

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the speech by the Deputy Prime Minister on 27 March 2013, when a consultation will begin on incentives to support employee ownership.

David Gauke: A consultation on the Government's proposals for supporting the indirectly employee-owned sector will be published before summer recess.

Financial Services

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on progress on the redress scheme for businesses that were mis-sold interest rate swaps and other similar products;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with senior management at (a) Barclays Bank, (b) HSBC Bank, (c) RBS Group and (d) Lloyds Banking Group on their progress in providing offers of redress to businesses that were mis-sold interest rate hedging products within the redress scheme announced by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Greg Clark: Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority and all the major banks to discuss the redress scheme for businesses that were mis-sold interest rate hedging products. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Ministerial Duties

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes have been made to the responsibilities of the Economic Secretary to the Treasury since 4 September 2012.

Sajid Javid: The responsibilities of HM Treasury Ministers are available on the Department's website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-treasury

Overseas Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the UK's official development assistance (ODA) budget in 2015-16 is new previously non-ODA attributable spending.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 1 July 2013
	UK ODA will rise from £11,727 million in 2014-15 to £12,220 million in 2015-16. New ODA spending in 2015-16 is therefore £493 million.

Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the statement of 27 June 2013 on investing in Britain's future, what total Barnett consequentials will be awarded to Northern Ireland as a result.

Danny Alexander: The Northern Ireland Executive capital settlement for 2015-16 was set out in the Chancellor's spending round statement on 26 June 2013, Official Report, columns 303-15. Where projects announced in investing in Britain's future involve spending commitments in 2015-16, the Northern Ireland Executive will have received the Barnett consequential as part of this settlement in the normal way.
	Where projects also involve spending beyond 2015-16, the Northern Ireland Executive will benefit from Barnett consequentials as part of their capital settlement at future spending reviews.

Public Finance

George Galloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects his policies will begin to reduce Government debt and see a resumption of average growth in the economy.

Sajid Javid: As set out in OBR's March 2013 forecast, GDP is expected to grow by 0.6% in 2013, 1.8% in 2014, 2.3% in 2015, 2.7% in 2016, and 2.8% in 2017. Public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP is forecast to fall in 2017-18. The Government continue to meet the fiscal mandate to achieve cyclically adjusted current balance by the end of five-year rolling horizon.

Public Sector Debt

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of servicing public sector net debt was in each of the last 10 years.

Sajid Javid: Historical data on public sector debt interest and central Government debt interest are set out on the supplementary table of the latest public sector finances statistical bulletin, available on the Office for National Statistics website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/psa/public-sector-finances---supplementary-table/may-2013/index.html
	Figures can be found on variable JW2R and NMFX in the following table:
	
		
			 £ billion 
			  Public sector debt interest JW2R Central Government debt interest NMFX 
			 2003-04 22.7 22.0 
			 2004-05 24.9 24.0 
			 2005-06 26.4 25.5 
			 2006-07 28.6 27.7 
			 2007-08 31.4 30.2 
			 2008-09 31.7 30.9 
			 2009-10 30.9 30.5 
			 2010-11 45.7 45.2 
			 2011-12 48.3 47.7 
			 2012-13 47.4 47.0

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Julian Huppert: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of items of unopened post at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC); and what recent assessment he has made of the ability of HMRC to deal with queries and correspondence in a timely manner.

David Gauke: HMRC performance targets for handling correspondence are published in HMRC's business plan. They are:
	Answering 80% of all correspondence in 15 working days and 95% in 40 working days.
	In 2012-13, HMRC answered 85% of all correspondence in 15 working days and 97.1% in 40 working days.
	HMRC periodically publishes performance statistics, including:
	the number and proportion of post items (including letters) to HMRC from customers which remained unanswered at the end of each quarter at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/bus-plan-qds.htm
	And now at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-plan-indicators
	HMRC plans to publish quarter 1 results for 2013-14 in August 2013.
	HMRC's target is to open post received within 24 hours, currently opening 96% on the day of receipt with the remaining 4% opened the next day. HMRC is meeting that target and there are no backlogs in post rooms.

Revenue and Customs: Rhyl

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on the closure of Rhyl tax office.

David Gauke: No decision has been made regarding the closure of the Rhyl office. The future of HM Revenue and Custom's inquiry centres will be decided after the pilot in the north-east concludes.
	HMRC will evaluate all of the information gathered from the pilot together with the feedback from the public consultation and plans to announce its decision on the way forward in January 2014.

Shares

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to bring forward proposals to make bearer shares illegal.

Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	This Department will publish a discussion paper on corporate transparency before September 2013. This will review the use of bearer shares by UK companies.
	This will help the UK meet the collective G8 commitment to prevent the misuse of certain shareholding structures which may obstruct transparency, such as bearer shares.

Tax Avoidance

Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government plan to bring about increased transparency in taxation, particularly in Crown Dependencies, during the UK's G8 presidency.

David Gauke: The Government work very closely with the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories on an ongoing basis, including as part of the G8 process over recent months. They have all agreed to automatically exchange information with the UK and others and therefore play an active role in the emerging new global standard for the automatic exchange of tax information. They have also committed to join the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as rapidly as possible. Finally, on 18 June the Crown Dependencies all published action plans setting out concrete steps to tackle misuse of companies and legal arrangements The Government will continue to pursue greater transparency in taxation in all relevant international fora.

Welfare State: Wales

Si�n James: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a cumulative impact assessment of the effect on welfare changes since 2010 in Wales.

Sajid Javid: This Government have taken unprecedented steps to increase transparency and enable effective scrutiny of their policy-making. They have gone further in this regard than previous Governments by publishing regular distributional analysis of the impact of their reforms.
	This Government do not publish cumulative analysis of welfare changes split by region. The latest estimates of the distributional impact of tax credit and benefits changes since 2010 were published at spending round 2013 and can be found on HM Treasury's website.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department has provided for the development of reduction, refinement and replacement alternatives to the use of animals in scientific procedures in each year between 2009 and 2012; how much of that funding has been provided to the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office make payments of £250,000 per annum to the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research.
	A significant part of the resource in the Home Office animals in science regulation unit is working towards the development of reduction, refinement and replacement alternatives (the 3Rs) to the use of animals in scientific procedures. Home Office inspectors do this as part of their inspection role and when assessing applications for project licences. Policy staff, in association with colleagues in other Government Departments, are actively taking forward the coalition commitment published in 2010 to work towards reducing the use of animals in research which involves promoting all 3Rs. It is not possible to quantify the value of this resource but we believe it is significant.

Bullying

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish draft guidance on bullying for the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Bill by 31 August 2013.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 1 July 2013
	We will be publishing guidance on all the new powers set out in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill. The guidance on the new injunction to prevent nuisance and annoyance will include how it could be used to deal with bullying. We expect to publish draft guidance before the Bill reaches Report stage in the House of Commons.

Common Travel Area

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Government of the Irish Republic and (b) the Northern Ireland Executive on the common travel area.

Mark Harper: Home Office officials are in regular contact with Irish Government officials taking forward joint work on the common travel area, which is underpinned and driven by the programme of work in the joint ministerial statement signed by the then UK Minister for Immigration Damian Green MP and the Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter TD, in Dublin on 20 December 2011. The Northern Ireland Executive has been briefed on this.

Conditions of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were retained on zero-hour contracts by (a) her Department and (b) the Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office, its agencies and non-departmental bodies do not retain any staff on zero-hour contracts.

Conditions of Employment

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed by her Department on zero-hour contracts.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 24 June 2013
	The Home Office does not retain any staff on zero-hour contracts.

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support her Department has given to universities to help implement the Prevent strategy; and what steps she has taken to monitor implementation.

David Willetts: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	As set out in the Prevent strategy (2011), BIS leads in the delivery of Prevent in higher education and further education. We support universities and colleges to implement and embed the strategy in a number of ways.
	We have appointed 10 regional co-ordinators to provide guidance and support to institutions for all issues relating to Prevent. This includes managing the risks associated with external speakers and room booking procedures. They offer training for all staff to raise awareness of Prevent and promote engagement by working up light- touch action plans with institutions. Co-ordinators provide regular reports on how implementation of the strategy is progressing in the sector.
	A BIS-funded Safe Campus Communities website was produced by Universities UK (UUK) as a resource for the sector to bring together available guidance and offer case studies of best practice. It includes a forum encouraging knowledge sharing. In addition, UUK will be publishing guidance for universities on external speakers this summer.
	BIS funds the National Union of Students (NUS) to support students' unions in understanding their responsibilities in relation to Prevent and charities legislation. This includes guidance on speaker and room bookings, training for incoming sabbatical officers and staff, issuing information and advice to students' unions, and running or contributing to a number of trainings and events for students' unions and the wider sector.
	Universities and students’ unions are also given advice and support by the Charities Commission on meeting their responsibilities as charities in relation to ensuring that their activities and funds are not for the purposes of furthering terrorism or extremism.

Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Serious Organised Crime Agency has (a) compiled a report and (b) given a report to the Leveson inquiry concerning illegal information gathering by private detectives at the behest of a range of clients.

James Brokenshire: The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) produced a confidential report in 2008 entitled “Private Investigators: The Rogue Element of the Private Investigation Industry and Others Unlawfully Trading in Personal Data”. The report was made available, in confidence, to the Leveson inquiry in March 2012 by SOCA. A redacted version of that report was produced for public information in July 2012 and is available on the SOCA website.

Cybercrime

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the economy of cybercrime in 2011-12.

James Brokenshire: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 10 January 2013, Official Report, column 418W.

Drugs: Crime

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug offences relating to class A substances have been reported in (a) Harlow and (b) Essex since 2001; and what proportion of national offences relating to class A substances such figures represent.

Jeremy Browne: The information requested is not available centrally. The police recorded crime data collected by the Home Office contain the number of drug offences recorded but it is not possible to identify the class of the drug involved.

Entry Clearances

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she made of the effectiveness of the visa system in helping to increase tourism and business from (a) China, (b) India and (c) other priority markets.

Mark Harper: We operate a highly effective visa system for all categories, including in China, India and our priority markets—for example, in 2012 we processed 95% of tourist visit visa and 96% of business visit visa applications within 15 days, and visa applicants can apply for our priority visa service (three to five days) in over 50 countries. We continue to review and develop the products available.
	In April 2013 in China we launched a new VIP mobile biometric enrolment and passport pass back service for premium customers; in May 2013 we launched a new same-day super priority visa service in Delhi, which we have subsequently expanded to Mumbai and Chennai. We will assess the impact of these new premium products during 2013.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of applications for student visas were dismissed in each of the last five years.

Mark Harper: The latest published figures for outcomes of visa applications (including refusals) for study (excluding student visitors), in each of the last five years appear in the following table:
	
		
			 Visa applications and resolution, for study (excluding student visitors(1)), main applicants and dependants, 2008-12 
			  Applications Resolved Issued Percentage Refused Percentage Withdrawn/ lapsed 
			 2008 343,273 332,872 231,975 70 98,646 30 2,257 
			 2009 428,819 414,335 303,361 73 103,259 25 7,715 
			 2010 367,187 391,602 285,544 73 90,451 23 15,607 
			 2011 310,958 318,360 261,870 82 51,017 16 5,473 
			 2012 234,684 235,652 209,804 89 24,013 10 1,835 
			 (1 )Student visitors are allowed to come to the UK for six months (or 11 months if they will be studying an English Language course) and cannot extend their stay. Source: Table be_01_q. ‘Immigration Statistics’, January to March 2013 
		
	
	The latest Home Office immigration statistics, including those for entry clearance visas, are published in the release Immigration Statistics January to March 2013, which is available from the Library of the House and on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

Eurojust

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on when the European Commission first published a draft regulation on reforming the structure of Eurojust; what progress has been made with negotiations on the draft regulation; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the draft regulation.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 1 July 2013
	The Commission has yet to publish its new proposal to reform Eurojust. It is expected to be published soon, after which negotiations will commence. Upon publication it will be deposited with the Scrutiny Committees under cover of an explanatory memorandum in the usual way. The proposal will trigger an opt-in decision, on which it is anticipated that debates will take place in both Houses.

Extradition: USA

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people were extradited from the US to the UK in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013 to date; and how many such people were US nationals;
	(2)  how many people were extradited from the UK to the US in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013 to date; and how many such people were UK nationals.

Mark Harper: In 2012 four people were extradited from the US to the UK. None of these people were US nationals. In 2013 (up to 26 June) four people were extradited from the US to the UK. One person was a US national.
	For the purposes of this question, the extradition figures apply to England and Wales and Northern Ireland only. Scotland deals with its own extradition cases.
	In 2012, 20 people were extradited from the UK to the US, 12 of these people were UK nationals. In 2013 (up to 26 June) seven people were extradited from the UK to the US. Three of these people were UK nationals.
	For the purposes of this question, the extradition figures apply to England and Wales and Northern Ireland only. Scotland deals with its own extradition cases.

Fraud

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of fraud are reported to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau annually.

James Brokenshire: The numbers of cases of fraud reported to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau are published by the Office for National Statistics. The reports are available at:
	www.ons.gov.uk

Fraud

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many confirmed cases of fraud have been reported to Action Fraud in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: In the last 12 months, 148,150 reports of fraud have been made to Action Fraud. This figure includes confirmed and attempted frauds and cannot be broken down further.

Fraud

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many scam emails have been reported to Action Fraud in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: In the last 12 months, 41,875 scam emails have been reported to Action Fraud.

Fraud

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of fraud reported to Action Fraud have led to successful prosecutions to date.

James Brokenshire: Information on prosecutions which have resulted from reports made to Action Fraud cannot be extracted from the total number of reported fraud cases.

Greenwich University

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Greenwich university had a Prevent strategy agreed with her Department; and whether it had a dedicated police liaison officer to assist with its implementation.

David Willetts: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Greenwich university has, like other institutions, been in close contact over the past few years with its local police Prevent engagement officer and is working with the BIS higher education co-ordinator for London to look at its policies and procedures and to mitigate and manage the risks of extremism on its campus.

Hezbollah

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has considered proscribing Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organisation.

James Brokenshire: The UK proscribed Hezbollah’s external security organisation in 2001. In 2008 the proscription was extended to include the whole of Hezbollah’s military apparatus, namely the Jihad Council and all the units reporting to it.
	It is Government policy not to comment on whether or not a group is under consideration for proscription.

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the number of victims of trafficking who have been compelled to take part in criminal activities in each year since 2010.

Mark Harper: Seventy-four individuals referred to the national referral mechanism between 2010 and 2012 have received a positive conclusive grounds decision where criminality is listed as the exploitation sub type.
	The figures broken down by year are:
	2010: five;
	2011: 33;
	2012: 36.

Illegal Immigrants: Employment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many businesses in Northern Ireland have received fines or other penalties for employing illegal labour in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: The information requested is in the following table. The figures are based on the number of civil penalties served following visits to business addresses in Northern Ireland.
	The civil penalty compliance team has issued 41 civil penalties from 1 June 2010 to 31 May 2013, totalling £335,000.
	
		
			 As at 1 June to 31 May each year Penalties issued in Northern Ireland 
			 2010-11 9 
			 2011-12 11 
			 2012-13 21 
			 Total 41 
			 Note: The figures provided are sourced from a Home Office management information system which is not quality assured under National Statistics protocols and is subject to change due to internal data quality checking. Figures provided from this source do not constitute part of National Statistics and should be treated as provisional. 
		
	
	Please note the figures are for penalties issued at the initial decision stage which may be reduced, cancelled, increased or reissued at the objection or appeal stage.

Immigrants: English Language

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2013, Official Report, column 804W, on conditions of employment: English language, if she will make it her policy to require all immigrants to the UK to speak English in the workplace.

Mark Harper: The immigration rules contain provisions which require migrants applying to come to the UK to work under the points-based system to have an appropriate level of English, generally at B1 level of the common European framework of reference for languages which is a level at which individuals can be expected to deal with daily routine matters within the workplace. Pre-entry English requirements also apply to certain other immigration categories which confer permission to work, for example those coming as partners and spouses of British citizens and people settled here.
	These measures aim to ensure that migrants with a route to permanent residence in the UK are able to speak English and integrate into UK society, but behaviour within the workplace is a matter for individual employers.

Immigration

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of co-operation between authorities in the Irish Republic and the UK to counter illegal immigration.

Mark Harper: The UK and Ireland's relationship is unique and long-standing; there is excellent Government and operational level co-operation to prevent those seeking to abuse the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangement from doing so by strengthening the external CTA border, while preserving the right of free movement within it for those who are lawfully present.

Immigration Controls

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what border checks are conducted those who leave the UK.

Mark Harper: Home Office Immigration Enforcement regularly conducts manual embarkation checks on passengers on an intelligence-led basis, targeting routes that are known to be used by immigration offenders.
	This ensures that immigration offenders are prevented from returning to the UK for a defined period.
	More generally, the use of advance passenger information supports our ability to undertake effective exit checks as passengers leave the UK.

Immigration: Married People

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government are taking to reduce the arrangement of marriages primarily for immigration purposes.

Mark Harper: The Government recognise the risk that sham marriages, arranged primarily for immigration purposes, pose to our immigration system and their links to wider criminality, such as fraud and benefit abuse. We are working closely with our partners across Government and with local registration services and the Anglican Church, to identify and tackle sham marriages at the earliest point.

Immigration: Married People

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence the Government have collected on the number of marriages arranged primarily for immigration purposes.

Mark Harper: Under section 24 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 registrars are required to report to the Home Office any persons they have reasonable grounds to suspect are entering into a marriage arranged primarily for immigration purposes. Section 24 reports are investigated and, where appropriate, action is taken. We received 384 section 24 reports in 2007; 344 in 2008; 561 in 2009; 934 in 2010; 1,741 in 2011; and 1,891 in 2012.

Immigration: Married People

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refusals of (a) entry to and (b) residence in the UK were made in each of the last five years on the basis of a sham marriage.

Mark Harper: Information regarding the number of foreign nationals refused entry to and residence in the UK on the basis of sham marriage is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Immigration: Married People

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people with a spousal visa have not been given leave to remain at the end of their probationary period in each year since 2008.

Mark Harper: holding answer 1 July 2013
	Information on how many individuals with a spousal visa were refused leave to remain at the end of their probationary period is not aggregated in national reporting systems. This information could only be obtained by a disproportionately expensive manual case-by-case search to collate the data.

Immigration: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed by her Department in Northern Ireland to counter illegal immigration and enforce immigration law.

Mark Harper: The Home Office had 131.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) paid staff working in Northern Ireland as of 25 June 2013. The following table is broken down by directorate level.
	
		
			 Directorate FTE 
			 Border Force 76.4 
			 Immigration Enforcement 49.0 
			 UK Visas and Immigration 6 
			 Total 131.4 
		
	
	Full-time equivalent means that part-timers are counted by the proportion of full-time hours they work, so that a part-timer working half the time of an equivalent full-timer would count as 0.5 FTE.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the oral statement and contributions of 24 June 2013, Official Report, columns 25-37, on undercover policing, by what date she expects to have finalised the resource implications for the IPCC in relation to the duties outlined in the statement; and what those duties will be.

Damian Green: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has received a referral from the Metropolitan police of the allegations made of the deployment of undercover officers against the Lawrence family and of the withholding of that deployment from the Macpherson inquiry. It is for the IPCC to decide the appropriate mode of investigation for that complaint and, if it decides to investigate itself, the appropriate resource necessary to carry out an investigation.

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Warley can expect to receive a reply from her Department to his letter of 18 February 2013 regarding the case of Mr Eugene Komeny.

Mark Harper: The Home Office wrote to the right hon. Member on 25 June 2013.

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Warley can expect to receive a reply from her Department to his letter of 13 March 2013 to the UK Border Agency regarding the case of Mrs Sukhvinder Kaun.

Mark Harper: The Home Office wrote to the right hon. Member on 26 June 2013.

Misuse of Drugs Ministerial Group

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, columns 384-5W, on mis-use of drugs ministerial group, if she will publish the (a) attendees, (b) minutes of the previous meetings and (c) schedule for any future meetings of the inter-ministerial group on drugs.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 1 July 2013
	As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to publish details of such meetings.

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department's expenditure on contracts with MITIE since financial year 2008-09 is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Spend with MITIE (£) 
			 2008-09 5,452,000 
			 2009-10 210,000 
			 2010-11 365,000 
			 2011-12 5,890,000 
			 2012-13 7,530,000 
			 2013-14 1,208,000

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to her Department.

James Brokenshire: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 29 October 2012, Official Report, column 73W.

National Retail Crime Steering Group

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Retail Crime Strategy Group (a) has met since May 2010, (b) last met and (c) next plans to meet.

Jeremy Browne: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Cabinet Office website.

Passports

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had to ensure that the passport system is robustly enforced.

Mark Harper: Her Majesty's Passport Office is responsible for the UK passport application and issuing process and provides a gold standard approach recognised nationally and internationally for its security and robustness. HM Passport Office works closely with departmental colleagues and with law enforcement agencies in the UK, and with EU partners and other international colleagues through the International Civil Aviation Organisation to ensure that the highest standards of security are applied to the British passport and that UK citizens are able to travel overseas without undue hindrance.
	Passport holders benefit from a high quality of service. This is subject to public reporting of key performance indicators and supported by customer service intelligence carried out to monitor and improve delivery of passport services. The performance of HM Passport Office is set out in its annual report and accounts which will be submitted to Parliament in accordance with section 7 of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.

Passports

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appointment slots are available each week at Hull passport office; and what the average waiting time for an appointment is (a) at Hull passport office and (b) nationally.

Mark Harper: In the financial year 2013-14 to date, the average number of interview appointments available in the Hull interview office has been 23 per week. Following a review of our service provision we have recently increased the number of appointments to 39 per week.
	Her Majesty's Passport Office has two larger offices in Leeds and Sheffield where appointments are available within the average waiting time nationally which is 8.5 days. The Hull office is a smaller local facility open part-time for those who do not need an appointment within this timescale. The average waiting time in the Hull office to date in 2013-14 has been 24 days.

Pay

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what bonuses are being proposed for senior officials in her Department.

James Brokenshire: In line with Cabinet Office guidance, up to 25% of senior officials are eligible to be considered for a bonus for their performance in the 2012-13 performance year. As in previous years, the Department intends to exercise restraint in the awarding of bonus payments to these staff.

Personation

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of identity theft occurred in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Browne: Information on the number of identity theft cases occurring each year is not held centrally. Identity theft is not a specific criminal offence. It is an enabler of other crimes, such as fraud, and the criminal law contains a range of provisions to tackle this type of crime, such as the offences in the Fraud Act 2006.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department takes to ensure that Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) comply with their legal responsibilities to publish financial information and disclose details of their own interests and allowances; and whether her Department has any plans to publish a list of non-compliant PCCs.

Damian Green: holding answer 25 June 2013
	The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 require Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to publish information specified by the Home Secretary, including a register of interests, budgets and decisions of significant public interest. This is a legal obligation which is ultimately enforceable by the courts.
	The Act also introduced a police and crime panel in every police area to scrutinise the actions and decisions of the PCC. The panel has the power to question the commissioner and report publicly on the commissioner's performance of his or her statutory duties. This ensures that the local electorate is able to hold the commissioner to account at the ballot box.

Police: Intelligence Services

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many different police intelligence services are currently in operation in England and Wales; and how many such forces automatically share intelligence with other police forces via a central computer system.

Damian Green: In England and Wales each of the 43 geographic police forces, plus the British Transport police, the Ministry of Defence police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency including the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre operate police intelligence services. All such forces and law enforcement agencies manage and share intelligence on national databases, having regard to the code of practice on the management of police information, as appropriate.

Police: Recruitment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what data are collected on recruitment of police (a) from ethnic minorities and (b) based on (i) gender and (ii) ability to speak the Welsh language.

Damian Green: The Home Office collects figures for the number of police officers (full-time equivalent) recruited as a police standard direct recruit, those previously a special constable, by police force area, and all minority ethnic and gender groups. These data appear in the attached table for the latest available financial year, 2011-12.
	Data on police recruitment based on the ability to speak the Welsh language are not collected by the Home Office.
	
		
			 Number of police officers recruited as a police standard direct recruit and police—previously special constable, by police force area, all minority ethnic and gender, 2011-12(1, 2, 3,4, 5) 
			  All minority ethnic Male Female 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 15 9 
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 3 36 11 
			 Cheshire 1 20 9 
			 Cleveland 0 0 0 
			 Cumbria 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 0 
			 Dorset 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Durham 0 5 5 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 12 6 
			 Essex 0 12 6 
			 Gloucestershire 0 0 0 
			 Greater Manchester 0 0 0 
			 Gwent 0 0 0 
			 Hampshire 0 10 10 
			 Hertfordshire 2 16 5 
			 Humberside 0 0 0 
			 Kent 0 14 6 
			 Lancashire 1 31 19 
			 Leicestershire 3 19 21 
			 Lincolnshire 0 0 0 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 0 0 0 
			 Metropolitan Police 233 990 400 
			 Norfolk 0 16 7 
			 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 
			 Northumbria 0 0 0 
			 North Wales 0 2 0 
			 North Yorkshire 0 8 4 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 0 0 
			 South Wales 0 0 0 
			 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 
			 Staffordshire 0 0 0 
			 Suffolk 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 1 99 39 
			 Sussex 0 0 0 
			 Thames Valley 8 92 58 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 0 
			 West Mercia 0 10 2 
			 West Midlands 0 0 0 
			 West Yorkshire 0 0 0 
			 Wiltshire 0 15 9 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent (FTE) figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Police standard direct recruit includes special constables joining as a police officer and are recorded under this category if they have not been a special constable for a year or more. (3) Police—previously special constables includes special constables joining as a police officer if they have been a special constable within the last year. Includes special constables joining from another force as a police officer. This only applies to new officers, not to officers rejoining or transferring. (4) Source—Home Office via Annual Data Requirement (ADR 521). These figures are not regularly published and should be treated as provisional. (5) Figures for police officer joiners, for 2011-12, by police force area, rank and gender (including transfers) are published each year in Table 5 of 'Police Service Strength, England and Wales' (to be retitled 'Police Workforce, England and Wales').

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: For the most recently available 12-month period (July 2012 to June 2013), the Home Department spent £66,057 on newspapers, periodicals and trade magazines.

Prostitution: Greater London

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many brothels were identified by the Metropolitan Police in each London borough in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Browne: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 13 February 2013, Official Report column 760W.

Security Guards: Licensing

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether she plans to introduce legislation in this Session to reform regulation of the private security industry;
	(2)  when she plans to publish the response to the consultation on proposals to reform regulation of the private security industry.

James Brokenshire: Legislation designed for the regulation of businesses in the private security industry will be introduced this Session.
	A response to the Home Office consultation on a future regulatory regime for the private security industry will be published later in the summer.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made to date on moving the Serious and Organised Crime Agency to the National Crime Agency.

Jeremy Browne: The Government are committed to establishing the National Crime Agency (NCA) by the end of 2013 and are well on track to do so—the NCA will be delivered in October this year. Following Royal Assent of the Crime and Courts Bill on 25 April 2013, the NCA became a legal entity on 27 May 2013. The NCA top team is almost complete and the four new commands have all been established and are leading shadow operations. Staff and property transfer schemes which will enable (SOCA) staff and assets to be transferred to the NCA will be laid before Parliament shortly.

Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days on average staff of her Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Table 1 includes the average working days lost to sickness absence in each pay grade in the Home Department for each of the last 12 months (June 2012 to May 2013).
	Figures include both the parent Home Department as well as any executive agencies at the end of each month but exclude non-departmental public bodies.
	
		
			 Table 1: Rolling year average days lost (RYAWDL) to sick absence in each of the last 12 months 
			  2012 2013 
			 Grade equivalency Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May 
			 1. AA 9.80 10.01 10.06 10.35 10.51 10.59 10.99 10.74 10.42 10.26 10.47 10.57 
			 2. AO 9.92 10.00 9.93 9.76 9.65 9.73 9.62 9.50 9.42 9.50 9.61 9.57 
			 3. EO 8.11 8.15 8.13 8.04 7.96 7.95 7.97 7.91 7.85 7.72 7.77 7.77 
			 4. HEO 5.97 5.91 5.86 5.67 5.88 5.97 6.22 6.14 6.29 6.37 6.39 6.35 
			 5. SEO 4.80 4.91 4.89 4.93 5.12 4.74 4.90 4.81 4.76 4.89 4.95 4.92 
			 6. G7 3.80 3.94 3.91 3.91 3.92 3.87 3.86 3.78 4.04 3.96 3.88 3.91 
			 7. G6 2.88 3.00 2.90 3.01 3.20 2.88 3.12 3.03 3.06 3.35 3.49 3.60 
			 8. SCS 2.82 2.96 2.73 2.84 2.04 3.05 3.36 3.33 4.03 4.08 3.65 3.86 
			 Grand total 7.77 7.81 7.77 7.68 7.63 7.62 7.66 7.58 7.54 7.52 7.58 7.57 
			 Notes: 1 .Organisational Coverage: Figures up to and including 30 November 2012: Comprise Home Office headquarters and its executive agencies (United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), Identity and Passport Service (IPS), National Fraud Authority (NFA) and Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)). Figures from 31 December 2012 to 31 March 2013: On 3 December 2012 CRB left the Home Office and, together with the Independent Safeguarding Authority, formed a new non-departmental public body, the Disclosure and Barring Service. Sick absences attributed to CRB employees have, therefore, been excluded from the figures from this date. Figures from 30 April 2013: On 1 April 2013 the Home Office underwent a significant restructure; UKBA was abolished and its teams were incorporated into the former Home Office headquarters area of the Department. At the same time, IPS was renamed Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO). Figures therefore include Home Office (including former headquarters areas as well as the former UKBA areas) and its executive agencies (NFA and HMPO). 2. Calculation and Employee Coverage: Rolling Year Average Working Days Lost (RYAWDL) to sick absence is reported in line with Cabinet Office standards, definitions and reporting guidelines, using Office for National Statistics methodology: figures include all working days lost to sick absence as well as working days available for all current paid civil servants and any leavers who were paid at the time of their departure during the preceding 12 months. In March 2013 the Home Office introduced a new Oracle-based corporate HR MI system called Galena; RYAWDL figures from 31 March 2013 have been calculated using this system. Prior to this, legacy systems were used to calculate RYAWDL. The table includes calculations based on both systems in line with the time period covered by the question. Source: Data View—the Home Office's single source of Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate Human Resources data. Extract date: Data View is extracted on the first day of the following month. Period covered: 1 June 2012 to 31 May 2013

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Home Department spent £3,398,825 on recruitment agency fees (including the provision of agency staff) in the 2012-13 financial year.
	(b) The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	(c) We are unable to break this down monthly, but able to provide the quarterly figures as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Quarter 1 (April to June) 1,022,166 
			 Quarter 2 (July to September) 3,288,000 
			 Quarter 3 (October to December) 2,868,000 
			 Quarter 4 (January to March) 7,571,817

Stephen Lawrence

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement of 24 June 2013, Official Report, columns 25-37, on undercover policing, when she expects the Ellison review to report.

Damian Green: It is critically important that the Ellison review is thorough and comprehensive in identifying and assessing any evidence of wrongdoing to inform decisions on next steps.
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department’s written ministerial statement of 11 July 2012, Official Report, columns 30-31WS, estimated that the review would report in July 2013. As the Secretary of State said in her statement of 24 June 2013, Official Report, columns 25-27, given the need to consider the latest allegations, the review will now be reporting later than intended.

Steroid Drugs

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of men taking steroids.

Jeremy Browne: Findings from the 2011-12 Crime Survey for England and Wales show that around 0.4% of men aged 16 to 59 had used anabolic steroids in the last year, equating to around 69,000 men.

Termination of Employment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions (a) a compromise agreement, (b) a confidentiality clause and (c) judicial mediation was used when an employee of (i) her Department and (ii) the public bodies for which she is responsible left their employment in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has taken this to mean:
	“in cases where there was no litigation and where the confidentiality clause prevents the individual from disclosing or discussing the existence, negotiation and terms of settlement”.
	We are unable to provide information on litigation matters in relation to judicial mediation, as these data are not held centrally. When using such clauses, the Home Office and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are mindful of business needs and the requirements of law, including accountability to Parliament.
	A compromise agreement and confidentiality clause has been used on the following number of occasions:
	Home Office
	2010-11: 3
	2011-12: 3
	2012-13: 6
	The NDPBs position on record keeping for such matters is as follows, but none have reported judicial mediations, and where numbers are reported they are for compromise agreements and include a confidentiality clause:
	National Policing Improvement Agency
	2010-11: 0
	2011-12: 0
	2012-13: 1
	Serious Organised Crime Agency
	2010-11: 3
	2011-12: 4
	2012-13: 4
	Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)—Existed since 1 December 2012
	Therefore the DBS can only report on a four month period—0.
	Independent Safeguarding Authority
	Nil return
	Criminal Records Bureau
	2010-11: 59
	2011-12: 0
	2013-13: 0
	Security Industry Authority
	2010-11: Nil return
	2011-12: Nil return
	2012-13: 1
	Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner
	No data held
	Independent Police Complaints Commission
	The information is held but could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

James Brokenshire: Estimates of vacancy rates are not calculated centrally. The Department's vacancy rate in 2012-13 and an estimate for 2013-14 could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the average cost to her Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period her Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Alan Duncan: The average cost to DFID of processing the payment of an invoice from the UK during 2012-13 is £7.25. All payments made from the United Kingdom are paid electronically.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has to invest in better data collection for information on chronic malnutrition and stunting.

Justine Greening: DFID (alongside other signatories) committed in the Nutrition for Growth compact to ensure strengthened data systems, common definitions and progress indicators are in place, supported by real-time monitoring tools to measure and report progress on chronic malnutrition (stunting).

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to involve civil society in developing the Nutrition for Growth accountability framework.

Justine Greening: In developing the accountability framework for Nutrition for Growth, we intend to engage with civil society organisations, which we expect will play a key role in advocacy for accountability.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had about the accountability framework for Nutrition for Growth; and which institution will be responsible for housing it.

Justine Greening: Discussions are under way with partners to develop the accountability mechanism and institutional home for the commitments made at the Nutrition for Growth event. Further details will be set out at the UN General Assembly in September 2013.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the accountability framework for Nutrition for Growth will cover the UN system and private sector institutions in addition to donors and Governments; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: All of the commitments made at the Nutrition for Growth event, including those from Governments, UN agencies and businesses, are captured in a document published on the Government website
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-host-high-level-meeting-on-global-nutrition-and-growth
	This is a tool which stakeholders can use to hold each other to account and is one aspect of the accountability framework.
	Discussions are under way with partners to develop the wider accountability mechanism and institutional home for the commitments made at the event. Further details will be set out at the UN General Assembly in September 2013.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has to open new bilateral nutrition programmes as part of the UK funding commitment made at the recent Nutrition for Growth summit.

Justine Greening: On June 8, DFID announced that it will increase its spend on direct nutrition programmes to up to £375 million (a tripling of 2010 levels) from 2013 to 2020. This means a significant scale up of nutrition programmes. We will work closely with DFID country offices, partner Governments, donors and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement as part of the decision making process on the allocation of investment.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department plans to prioritise any (a) countries and (b) regions to receive the UK funding committed at the recent Nutrition for Growth Summit.

Justine Greening: DFID will continue to prioritise nutrition interventions in countries with a high burden of undernutrition and where we have bilateral programmes. DFID will work closely with its country offices, partner Governments, donors and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement as part of the decision making process.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that other G8 nations and donors make funding commitments to tackle malnutrition.

Justine Greening: Nutrition for Growth: beating hunger through business and science, held as a pre-G8 event on 8 June, was part of DFID's efforts to ensure that other G8 nations and donors make funding commitments to tackle malnutrition. International financial commitments made by G8 nations, donors, partner Governments and civil society organisations amounted to an additional £2.7 billion for programmes to directly tackle malnutrition. In addition, £12.5 billion was committed for programmes in agriculture, sanitation and hygiene and social safety nets, which will also reduce malnutrition.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to tackle malnutrition in (a) India, (b) Nigeria, (c) Pakistan and (d) Indonesia.

Justine Greening: DFID supports programmes in India, Nigeria and Pakistan which reach close to 8 million people with a range of essential nutrition services and technical advice. DFID does not have a bilateral nutrition programme in Indonesia.

India

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much overseas aid is allocated to India from the UK's international development budget.

Alan Duncan: Information on how much overseas aid is allocated to India can be found on the gov.uk website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-13
	In a written ministerial statement last November, the Secretary of State announced that the UK's programme of financial grant aid to India will end. All new development co-operation programmes will be either technical assistance programmes, or private sector investments. DFID will finish existing financial grant projects, so that they all complete as planned by 2015.

Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: The central finance records of DFID show expenditure, categorised as external legal costs, totalling £404,849.79 for the year ended 31 March 2013. This excludes amounts paid to internal legal services within Government, including fees paid to the Treasury Solicitors department.

Palestinians

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with her Norwegian counterpart on Palestinian Authority payments to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the decision in Norway to establish a parliamentary committee inquiring into Palestinian Authority payments to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Lynne Featherstone: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 428-30W.

Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many days on average staff of her Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months.

Alan Duncan: The average number of days absence per grade for home civil servants is shown in the following table
	
		
			 DFID Grade Civil service equivalent Average days absence April 2012 to March 2013 
			 SCS SCS 2.26 
			 A1 G6 0.38 
			 A2 G7 0.29 
			 A2(L) SEO 0.17 
			 B1D SEO 0.45 
			 B1 KEO 0.16 
			 B2 EO 0.17 
			 C1 AO 0.09 
			 C2 AA 0.07

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Alan Duncan: We have applied an 8% vacancy rate across the organisation for budget purposes in 2013-14. In previous years vacancy rates were monitored and managed at a local business unit level.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Local Growth Committee

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which Ministers will be members of the Government's Local Growth Committee; and what terms of reference that committee will have.

Nicholas Clegg: The membership of the Local Growth Committee is listed as follows:
	Local Growth Committee
	Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council (Chair)
	(The Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP)
	Chancellor of the Exchequer (Deputy Chair)
	(The Rt Hon George Osborne MP)
	Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
	(The Rt Hon Dr Vincent Cable MP)
	Secretary of State for Education
	(The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP)
	Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
	(The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP)
	Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
	(The Rt Hon Edward Davey MP)
	Secretary of State for Transport
	(The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP)
	Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	(The Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP)
	Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Minister for Women and Equalities
	(The Rt Hon Maria Miller MP)
	Minister without Portfolio
	(The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP)
	Chief Secretary to the Treasury
	(The Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP)
	Minister of State—Cabinet Office
	(The Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP)
	Minister of State—Business, Innovation and Skills
	(The Rt Hon David Willets MP)
	Commercial Secretary to the Treasury
	(The Rt Hon Lord Deighton KBE)
	Financial Secretary to the Treasury
	(The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP).
	Its terms of reference are:
	“To consider issues relating to local growth.”

WORK AND PENSIONS

Bereavement Benefits

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason people over the age of eligibility to receive a state pension are ineligible to receive a bereavement payment.

Steve Webb: Bereavement payment is payable to a surviving spouse or civil partner over state pension age if their late husband wife or civil partner was not entitled to category A state pension when they died, and they satisfied the other conditions of entitlement.

Carer’s Allowance

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has any plans to review the carer's allowance.

Esther McVey: The Government have announced that carer's allowance will continue to exist as a separate benefit outside of universal credit. It was thought important that carers should continue to enjoy the recognition and support of a dedicated benefit, but we will be reviewing carer's allowance in the context of the introduction of universal credit.

Construction: Industrial Health and Safety

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reintroduce the provisions contained in the Construction (Head Protection) Regulations.

Mark Hoban: The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 were amended when the Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989 were revoked. The amendments extend the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 to cover the provision and use of head protection on construction sites, providing the same level of legal protection as previously existed.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2013, Official Report, column 882, on work capability assessment, if he will publish a table of the main reasons why appellants are successful on appeal against employment and support allowance appeals.

Mark Hoban: The provision of feedback on reasons for tribunal's decisions is a matter for the judiciary. Last year the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the President of the Social Entitlement Chambers, His Honour Judge Robert Martin agreed to pilot a scheme to provide feedback from tribunals to help inform DWP decision makers about why decisions were being overturned.
	A report focusing on high-level explanations from tribunal judges of why decisions by DWP decision makers had been overturned was published by the DWP on 19 November 2012 and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/196742/sscs_appeals.pdf.pdf

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to assist those affected by the social sector size criteria to move to smaller homes.

Steve Webb: The changes taken forward in the Localism Act 2011 make it easier for councils and housing associations to move under-occupying tenants, and free up family-sized housing for other households in need.
	The Government have also provided councils with £7.8 million between 2011 and 2013 to help support social tenants who wish to downsize. The Government also continues to fund an action team within the Chartered Institute of Housing to work with all social landlords to help them promote moves.

Members: Correspondence

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will reply to the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton's letter of 21 May 2013 from a constituent concerning the loss of disability living allowance and a mobility vehicle for her daughter.

Esther McVey: John Oliver, the Department's Director for Operational Excellence replied to my hon. Friend on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), on 26 June 2013.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 26 June 2013, Official Report, columns 303-334, on the spending review, 
	(1)  what additional costs will be incurred as a result of (a) Upfront Work Search, (b) jobcentre attendance by lone parents of three and four-year-olds and (c) weekly signing for half of all jobseekers to be implemented in 2015-16;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the reduction in benefit spending in 2015-16 as a result of (a) Upfront Work Search, (b) weekly signing by jobseekers and (c) new conditionality for lone parents with a youngest child aged three and four years old.

Mark Hoban: The reforms we have announced will deliver over £350 million in annual savings. All these savings will be re-invested in more help for claimants to get back into work, including the cost of the new conditions jobcentres will be asked to enforce. There will be a phased introduction of these policies from early 2014, with full implementation by April 2015.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 26 June 2013, Official Report, columns 303-334, on the spending review, what saving he anticipates will accrue to his Department in 2015-16 as a result of the (a) application of the welfare cap, (b) introduction of a temperature test for the winter fuel payment and (c) new seven-day wait before people can claim benefits.

Mark Hoban: The welfare cap will improve spending control, support fiscal consolidation and ensure the welfare system remains affordable. If the Office for Budget Responsibility projects that spending will breach the cap in any year of the forecast horizon, the Government will need to bring forward a response—changing policy or explaining publicly why they judge that action is not appropriate. The Government will announce the level of the cap at Budget 2014.
	The Department estimates that the introduction of a temperature link for the winter fuel payment, will produce savings in the region of £30 million in 2015/16. The level of savings will be assessed and certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility at the autumn statement.
	As published in the OBR policy costing notes, costings for the new seven-day waiting period before people receive benefits have been estimated on the basis that from April 2015, new awards of universal credit for claimants that have not had a universal credit claim in the past six months and at least one person in the household is subject to conditionality, are reduced by the average amount of universal credit claimed per claimant per week. This would save £245 million in 2015-16.

Unemployment and Early Retirement

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of (a) jobseekers and (b) people taking early retirement in (i) Glasgow North West constituency, (ii) Glasgow, (iii) Scotland and (iv) the UK; what projections he has made of trends in each category for each of the next five years; and what assessment he has made of the economic factors underlying those trends.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows jobseeker’s allowance claimants in the Glasgow North West parliamentary constituency, Glasgow City local authority district, Scotland and the UK. The number of people claiming JSA has fallen in all these areas, both in the last year and since May 2010.
	
		
			  May 2010 May 2011 May 2012 May 2013 Change on year 2012-13 Change since May 2010 
			 Glasgow North West 3,502 3,595 3,353 3,136 -217 -366 
			 Glasgow City 24,529 25,029 24,385 22,828 -1,557 -1,701 
			 Scotland 135,541 140,107 141,827 134,410 -7,417 -1,131 
			 UK 1,502,155 1,504,913 1,590,708 1,495,758 -94,950 -6,397 
			 Note: For consistency, figures above are not seasonally adjusted (seasonally adjusted data are only available at a national and regional level, not sub-regional). As such, the UK and Scotland figures will differ from the normally quoted headline numbers. Source: nomisweb.co.uk 
		
	
	The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) produces an independent forecast of the claimant count. The latest forecast is published at:
	http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/March-2013-EFO-44734674673453.pdf
	OBR forecasts are only available at national level.
	There is no officially recognised definition of “early” retirement. The default retirement age has been abolished. Receiving a state pension at state pension age is not synonymous with retirement from work.
	The following table shows the number of people self-reporting as “retired” before state pension age. People leave the labour market for a variety of reasons. Some who report other reasons for inactivity may in effect be retired, so the figures are likely to be an underestimate. There are no projections for the number of people who will retire early.
	
		
			 “Retired” before State Pension Age (assumed 65 for men, 60 for women) Q2 2010 Q2 2011 Q2 2012 Change since 2010 
			 UK 579,000 603,000 604,000 +25,000 
			 Scotland 53,000 57,000 53,000 +1,000 
			 Notes: 1. These data are subject to sampling variation. Sample sizes were too small to produce figures for Glasgow City or the Glasgow North West parliamentary constituency. 2. State pension age for women is currently increasing from 60 in 2010 to 65 in 2018. For the purposes of showing a consistent comparison over time the figures in the table assume SPA for women remained at 60. Source: Labour Force Survey April-June 2010, 2011, 2012

Welfare State: Reform

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 26 June 2013, Official Report, columns 303-334, on the spending review, what criteria he will use to identify the under-performing programmes in his Department mentioned in that statement; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Department continually assesses the value for money and performance of programmes to ensure that they meet the standards required. Where formal evaluations are undertaken, these are, and will continue to be published.

Welfare State: Reform

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from the Chancellor of the Exchequer on under-performing programmes in his Department.

Mark Hoban: The Department continuously receives and seeks feedback and views on all aspects of its delivery, which are used to inform future policy development and ensure that the best possible value for money is received from all programmes and activity.

Winter Fuel Payments

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to paying the winter fuel allowance early to allow the early purchase of fuel stocks when prices are lower.

Steve Webb: We have considered this, and concluded that it would not be feasible to identify subgroups within a flat rate universal benefit. However, we are working with DECC, consumer groups and the industry on initiatives such as encouraging off-grid consumers to pool resources and purchase fuel in bulk to attract lower delivery costs, as discussed at the roundtable chaired by DECC and DEFRA Ministers in May.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department (a) collects and (b) holds on participation rates in adult education in each Government office region.

Matthew Hancock: The Individualised Learner Record (ILR) is a collection of data about learners and their learning that is requested from providers in the Further Education (FE) and Skills sector:
	http://www.theia.org.uk/ilr/
	Information on all Government-funded adult (19+) learner participation by Region is published in supplementary tables to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C74D91A3-4CEE-4FD2-9A22-4307920D11A8/0/January2013_OverallFEandSkillsParticipation.xls

Animal Experiments

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding his Department has provided for the development of reduction, refinement and replacement alternatives to the use of animals in scientific procedures in each year between 2009 and 2012; how much of that funding has been provided to the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Government established The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) in May 2004 to advance and promote the 3Rs in research and testing that uses animals. The NC3Rs primarily receives Government funding through BIS via the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
	MRC and BBSRC funding for the NC3Rs between 2009 and 2012 is shown in the following table. Alongside funding directed through the NC3Rs, the BBSRC provides funding for research on the replacement, refinement and reduction of animals in research and spend on this is indicated in the table. The MRC also supports research projects which contribute to the development of new knowledge and new methods that help replace or refine animal use.
	
		
			 £ 
			   NC3Rs 
			  BBSRC Programmes and Responsive Mode funding MRC BBSRC Total BIS funding 
			 2008/09 3.900.000 2.640.000 828.000 7.368.000 
			 2009/10 3.867.000 3.240.000 1.028.000 8.135.000 
			 2010/11 3.000.000 3.840.000 1.228.000 8.068.000 
			 2011/12 2.200.000 3.950.000 1.265.000 7.415.000 
		
	
	MRC and BBSRC have agreed to maintain funding for the NC3Rs in real terms for the current spending review period. In addition to this funding the MRC have agreed to provide an further £1 million per year for three years for industry co-sponsored projects through the CRACK IT initiative from FY 2013/14, and BBSRC are providing an extra £300,000 per year for three years from FY 2012/13 for project and pilot grants under the animal welfare call. Also, in early 2013 BIS provided the NC3Rs with an additional £250,000 for two years from FY 2013/14 for the development of shared research infrastructure.

Business Bank Project

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his answer of 11 June 2013, Official Report, column 249W, how many (a) of his Department's officials and (b) Capital For Enterprise Limited employees are part of his Department's interim business bank team.

Michael Fallon: There are currently 31.3 full-time equivalent staff working in the Department on the business bank initiative, either on the establishment of the business bank or on the programmes which are expected to form part of it.
	There are currently a total of 33.6 full-time equivalents working at Capital for Enterprise Ltd, all of whom are contributing to the business bank project.

Business Bank Project

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his answer of 11 June 2013, Official Report, column 249W, within which directorate the interim business bank team is located in his Department.

Michael Fallon: The Department's interim business bank team is predominantly located in the Shareholder Executive and Enterprise Directorate directorates.

Business Bank Project

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has made an application for approval under EU state aid rules of the Government's business bank proposal.

Michael Fallon: Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills are in continuing dialogue with the Commission regarding the business bank and its activities, in preparation for submitting a formal notification to the Commission later this year.

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that implementation of the WEEE Recast Directive 2012/19/EU and changes to the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) system in the UK leads to all hazardous WEEE being obligated and funded post-recast;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that implementation of the WEEE Recast Directive 2012/19/EU and changes to the UK waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) system will minimise adverse environmental effects of WEEE disposal;
	(3)  what meetings officials of his Department have had with representatives of producers and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) treatment facilities to discuss the WEEE Recast Directive 2012/19/EU consultation; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects of using percentage targets as maximums on the overall level of waste electrical and electronic equipment collected.

Michael Fallon: The Government consultation, Implementation of the WEEE Recast Directive 2012/19/EU and Changes to the UK WEEE System (BIS/13/762), closed on 21 June 2013. BIS officials are currently evaluating the responses. The Government response to the consultation will be published shortly. It will set out how the Government intend to transpose the recast WEEE Directive in a way that ensures the environmental objectives agreed at the EU level are met whilst minimising the burdens on business.
	BIS officials have had extensive and regular discussions directly with key stakeholders over the 18 months leading up to the publication of the consultation paper in April this year. The consultation document lists key stakeholders that were consulted before publication.

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he will take to prevent producer compliance schemes allowing companies to obtain or abuse a dominant market position in the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) as a result of the WEEE Recast Directive 2012/19/EU and changes to the UK WEEE system.

Michael Fallon: Protection against anti-competitive behaviour and abuse by a company of a dominant position in the market in particular is prohibited under the Competition Act 1998. Responsibility for enforcing competition law falls to the Office of Fair Trading as the competent authority in the UK. It has significant powers to investigate and act if it finds firms are abusing a dominant position or behaving anti-competitively.

Engineering

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consider establishing a new post of Government Chief Engineering Officer.

David Willetts: The remit of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser covers all areas of science and engineering. In addition, the network of Chief Scientific Advisers (CSAs) across Government includes those with expertise in all areas of science. Three of the current CSAs are engineers, including the CSA in BIS. They, like all CSAs, contribute their expertise across Government. The Government therefore do not consider it necessary to create a specific post of Government Chief Engineering Officer. Departments which have a strong need for additional engineering expertise can recruit such. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), for example, have recently appointed a Chief Engineer within the DECC CSA's team.

Green Investment Bank

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what target he has set for the (a) number and (b) value of investments made under the Green Investment Bank in each of the next two years; and what assessment he has made of progress against such targets to date.

Michael Fallon: There is no specific target as to the total value or number of commitments the Green Investment Bank should make in any given year. To date the Bank has committed £635 million and its senior management is confident of committing the full £3.8 billion that has now been allocated to the Bank for the period to April 2016. The Bank has full flexibility to carry over funds between years within the current spending review period to April 2015. It also has scope to make commitments during this spending review period which only crystallise as spending after April 2015. This flexibility is limited to a maximum of £500 million per annum.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has (a) made and (b) commissioned of the effectiveness of local enterprise partnerships and their operation.

Michael Fallon: The Government do not carry out formal assessments of the effectiveness of local enterprise partnerships. As partnerships of business and civic leaders, local enterprise partnerships are first and foremost accountable to their local community and local businesses.

Post Offices

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress the Government has made in achieving its aim of making the Post Office a front office for local and national government.

Jo Swinson: Under EU procurement rules Government Departments, their agencies and local authorities must procure services in a competitive tendering process. The Post Office, with its network of over 11,500 branches, is well placed to become a provider of front office services, helping citizens interact with Government either face-to-face or online.
	Post Office Ltd has shown that it can competitively tender for new work, and since March 2011 has won the following contracts:
	DVLA Front Office Counter Services (identity verification and enrolment, also a framework contract that can be used by other Government Departments and agencies)
	UK Borders Agency (biometric residency permits)
	Taxi and Private Hire (previously Public Carriage Office) (identity verification for CRB checks)
	Care Quality Commission (identity verification for CRB checks)
	Driver Standards Agency (identity Verification for CRB checks)
	Skills Funding Agency (identity verification for the Learner Passport scheme)
	DWP ID Framework (ensures a customer has a trusted identity before accessing online services. This framework contract has been transferred to GPS in the Cabinet Office)
	London Public Service Network (identity enrolment for local authority employees)
	Westminster city council (contract to provide a number of face to face council services)
	London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (contract to provide a number of face to face council services)
	I am hopeful that the Post Office will be able to build on this success to bid competitively for, and win, further front office for Government work.

Post Offices: Rhyl

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress has been made on the closure of Rhyl Crown post office.

Jo Swinson: The Government are fully committed to modernising the post office network and to safeguarding its future. This is why we are investing £1.34 billion over the next two years to modernise the network, helping the post office to compete in a changing retail market with no programme of closures.
	Ensuring that the heavy losses of the Crown post office segment of the network are eliminated to reach break-even by 2015 is a key element of the strategy to make the network sustainable.
	The Government do not have any role in the franchising proposals for Crown post office branches such as Rhyl. The development and implementation, following local public consultation, of such proposals is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd.

Prisons: Education

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many educational qualifications were awarded to prisoners in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 by (i) type of qualification and (ii) prison.

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) courses enrolled on and achieved by sector subject area, is available at the following link:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/FA56D899-CCCA-4D1A-A9DB-8B2A78DF4AC2/0/January2013_OLASS_Aims_SSA.xls
	Information on OLASS learner participation and achievement by level is available at the following link:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/11E30F3F-C15D-4C8B-9064-710454EEC3F5/0/January2013_OLASS_Participation Achievement.xls
	Final data are shown for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 academic years.
	Information on the number of OLASS achievement by prison name will be placed in the Libraries of the House as soon as it is received.

Staff

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the headcount of (a) his Department and (b) its Executive agencies and public bodies was in each month since May 2010, broken down by office location.

Jo Swinson: The following table shows the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) headcount by each month since May 2010. We can only provide a breakdown by office location for the current month, May 2013. To obtain this information for previous months, from May 2010 would result in disproportionate costs.
	
		
			  BIS headcount (including UKTI) 
			 2010  
			 May 3,607 
			 June 3,679 
			 July 3,653 
			 August 3,517 
			 September 3,597 
			 October 3,577 
			 November 3,256 
			 December 3,249 
			   
			 2011  
			 January 3,236 
			 February 3,275 
			 March 3,297 
			 April 3,291 
			 May 3,286 
			 June 3,212 
			 July 2,993 
			 August 2,994 
			 September 2,999 
			 October 3,008 
			 November 3,014 
			 December 3,009 
			   
			 2012  
			 January 3,068 
			 February 3,003 
			 March 3,029 
			 April 3,083 
			 May 3,115 
			 June 3,121 
			 July 3,116 
			 August 3,108 
			 September 3,110 
			 October 3,142 
			 November 3,105 
			 December 3,109 
			   
			 2013  
			 January 3,129 
			 February 3,142 
			 March 3,149 
			 April 3,080 
			 May 3,080 
		
	
	
		
			 BIS location Headcount May 2013 
			 London 2,589 
			 Sheffield 252 
			 Leeds 15 
			 Nottingham 28 
			 Manchester 42 
			 Birmingham 2 
			 Guildford 9 
			 Runcorn 10 
			 Cardiff 54 
			 Glasgow 28 
			 Wiltshire 1 
			 Gateshead 17 
			 Darlington 11 
		
	
	
		
			 Billingham 2 
			 Dorset 1 
			 Newcastle 4 
			 Bristol 11 
			 Warrington 4 
		
	
	All BIS core (including UKTI) headcount data is published on a monthly basis and can be found at the following link:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/transparency/staff
	BIS reports annually to the Office of National Statistics on headcount data by location and information for 2010/11 and 2011/12 can be found at the following link:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-279335
	I have asked chief executives of the Executive agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member. This information is not held by BIS in respect of non-departmental public bodies.
	Copies of the chief executives’ letters will be placed in the Library of the House.

Students: Fees

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the anticipated revenue from tuition fees charged in higher education institutions in England in each year since 2010 will be; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: Estimates of future income from tuition fees were published in the January 2013 grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England. These are shown as follows, alongside estimates of income for 2010-11 and 2011-12.
	
		
			 Fee income from students subject to regulated fees(1) 
			 Financial year £ million 
			 2010-11 3,000 
			 2011-12 3,200 
			 2012-13 4,200 
			 2013-14 5,800 
			 2014-15 7,100 
			 (1) Estimated income for 2010-11 and 2011-12. Forecasts for 2012-13 onwards 
		
	
	These figures cover full-time and part-time, home and EU domiciled students at institutions in England. They exclude those whose fees are paid by the Department of Health.
	The grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for 2013-14 can be found here:
	http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/newsarchive/2013/name,76313,en.html
	The figures for 2010-11 and 2011-12 are estimated using data from the HE Finance Plus report, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), which can be found here:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_ pubstask=show_pub_detailpubid=1710Itemid=276

TRANSPORT

Cycling: Accidents

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cyclists have been (a) killed and (b) seriously injured on the UK's roads for each of the last 3 years; and what steps the Government have taken to improve cycling safety.

Stephen Hammond: The number of reported pedal cyclists that have been (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in Great Britain in each of last three years are given in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of reported pedal cycle casualties in Great Britain: 2010-12 
			 Number of casualties 
			 Pedal cyclists 2010 2011 2012 
			 Killed 111 107 118 
			 Seriously injured 2,660 3,085 3,222 
		
	
	Together with local contributions, earlier this year we announced £40 million of funding for cycle safety schemes in England outside London. The funding will improve the design and layout of roads at 78 locations across the country, with all schemes due for completion within the next 12 months. Also, 94 out of the 96 schemes in the £600 million Local Sustainable Transport Fund include a cycling element.
	We have given local authorities flexibility to introduce 20 mph speed limits in residential areas and a process for applications for further rural 40 mph zones. We have also made it easier for authorities to install Trixi mirrors to improve the visibility of cyclists at junctions. Furthermore, our THINK! campaign, ‘THINK CYCLIST’, highlights the importance of drivers and cyclists looking out for each other.

Driving Licences

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the application fee for a new driving licence was in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Hammond: The following table shows the fees for all driving licences since 2001:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Licence type From 15 November 2001 From 1 March 2004 From 1 May 2007 From 1 April 2008 From 6 April 2009 
			 First provisional      
			 Car 29.00 38.00 45.00 50.00 50.00 
			 Bus or lorry 29.00 Free Free Free Free 
			       
			 First full      
			 Car or motorcycle 12.00 (1)9.00 Free Free Free 
			 Bus or lorry 12.00 Free Free Free Free 
			 After revocation — Free Free Free Free 
		
	
	
		
			 After disqualification till test pass — Free Free Free Free 
			       
			 Renewal      
			 From age 70 6.00 Free Free Free Free 
			 For medical reasons Free Free Free Free Free 
			 Bus or lorry 29.00 Free Free Free Free 
			 After disqualification 35.00 50.00 60.00 65.00 65.00 
			 After drink drive disqualification (HRO) 50.00 75.00 85.00 90.00 90.00 
			 Duplicate — — — — — 
			 Lost or stolen 17.00 19.00 22.00 17.50 20.00 
			 After revocation — 38.00 45.00 50.00 50.00 
			       
			 Exchange      
			 Add or remove entitlement 18.00 Free Free Free Free 
			 Remove expired endorsements 18.00 19.00 22.00 17.50 20.00 
			 Remove expired 25KW motorcycle restriction — (2)19.00 22.00 17.50 20.00 
			 Paper licence for Photocard 18.00 19.00 10.00 17.50 20.00 
			 Full Northern Ireland licence 18.00 Free Free Free Free 
			 First full EC/EEA or other foreign licence 29.00 38.00 45.00 50.00 50.00 
			 Full valid EC/EEA or other non-GB licence(including Channel Islands and Isle of Man) if previous full GB licence held — — Free Free Free 
			 Replacement — — — — — 
			 Change of name/address (existing licence surrendered) Free Free Free Free Free 
			 Change of name/address (existing licence lost/stolen) 17.00 19.00 22.00 17.50 20.00 
			 Vanity/renewal of photo on licence — — Free (3)17.50 20.00 
			 (1) If first provisional before 1 March 2004—£9.00; if after, Free. (2) Since February 2006 (3) From 16 May 2008

East Coast Railway Line

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what precautions are in place to avoid cartel collusion by potential bidders for the ECML franchise.

Simon Burns: All bidders for the East Coast Mainline (ECML) franchise will be required to enter into a franchise letting process agreement in which they sign up to anti-collusion provisions.
	The ECML franchise competition is subject to UK competition law as enforced by the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what comparative studies his Department has conducted of the qualifying distance for compensation paid to land and property owners under (a) High Speed 2 and (b) comparable schemes in other EU member states.

Simon Burns: Legal and administrative frameworks relating to land tenure, infrastructure development, compulsory purchase and compensation vary substantially across EU member states, so we have no reason to believe a comparative study of that kind would produce relevant or useful information. The Department, therefore, has not conducted this sort of comparative study.

Railways: Finance

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much each train operator had to pay in rail access charges in each year between 2004 and 2012.

Simon Burns: The data requested refer to transactions between private train operating companies and Network Rail which is not held by the Department. However, information for recent years is contained within Network Rail's Regulatory Financial Statements which are available on their website at:
	http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browsedirectory .aspx?dir=%5Crequlatory%20documents %5Cregulatory %20compliance%20and%20reporting%5Cregulatory%2 0accountsroot

Railways: Finance

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to increase rail access charges.

Simon Burns: The Office of Rail Regulation determines the appropriate level of track access charges through its periodic reviews of Network Rail's costs and charges. The periodic review for the next five-year control period is in progress and ORR published its draft conclusions on 12 June, which are open to consultation until 4 September:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/consultations/draft-determination.php

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Andrew McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been paid in each year since 1996 by his Department to reimburse or ameliorate net losses of a franchised operator arising from industrial action.

Norman Baker: The total amounts paid to train operators, in each year when any such payments were made, were as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2003 15,650,000 
			 2004 7,630,567 
			 2006 (1)250,000 
			 (1) Less than. 
		
	
	The payments in 2003 and 2004 were made by the Strategic Rail Authority rather than the Department for Transport.

Railways: Overcrowding

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the frequency with which railway passengers are required to stand for more than 20 minutes as a result of train overcrowding.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport publishes an annual statistical release on Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays in major cities in England and Wales. The latest publication based on 2011 data can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49880/rail-passengers-crowding-2011-revised.pdf
	The statistics show rail passenger numbers on trains throughout the day in several major cities, as well as the levels of peak crowding. Tables Rai0212 and Rai0213 show the total number of passengers standing in the peaks on arrival into and on departure from major stations on a typical day:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49881/rail-passenger-xls-tables-revised.zip

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings have been held and with whom to review the road maintenance block grant since 1 January 2010; and what the outcome was of those meetings.

Norman Baker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 June 2013, Official Report, column 678W.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will remove the requirement in the National Rail franchise terms for train operating companies to seek his agreement before altering the class designations of rolling stock.

Simon Burns: There are currently no plans to remove or amend the provision for train operating companies to seek the agreement of the Secretary of State before altering the class designations of rolling stock.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department's latest guidelines for the placement of speed cameras specifies that speed camera housings must be coloured yellow.

Stephen Hammond: It is for local authorities and police to decide whether or not to use speed cameras and how they wish to operate them.
	The Department's latest guidance on the placement, visibility and signing of speed cameras was contained in DFT Circular 01/2007.

Transport: Rural Areas

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve transport links in rural areas (a) nationally and (b) in the North West.

Norman Baker: The Government has made investment in transport a top priority since 2010. Our investment will support jobs and growth and give confidence to industry, attracting inward investment. The Government will make sure all parts of the country benefit from this investment.
	In looking at rural areas we will continue to work closely with ministers and officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Government's Rural Statement was published in September 2012 and this links fair access to services in rural areas, including transport, with the need for rural businesses to make a sustainable contribution to national growth.
	At a local level the Local Transport Bodies and the in future Local Enterprise Partnerships will have an increasingly important role to play in deciding transport investment priorities for their areas with the creation of the Single Local Growth Fund. Importantly they can now do this with the benefit of the longer term commitment to funding infrastructure announced in the Spending Review.
	The Government has already committed funding to support the provision of significant transport links in the North West. These include for instance road schemes that will assist rural areas such as the Heynsham to M6 link. At a more local level the Government's Local Sustainable Transport Fund is supporting innovative schemes in rural part of the NW, such as the Lake District Sustainable Visitor Transport Beacon project.
	The Government also recognises and supports the role that Community Travel plays in providing transport links in rural areas. We have provided £20m specifically to help local authorities in rural areas foster community travel initiatives in their areas. Furthermore, we will soon be announcing successful bidders for the Cycling National Parks Grant, which as well as targeting improving cycle infrastructure is aimed at linking rural communities.
	We have also continued to encourage the creation of Community Rail Partnerships, examples of existing partnerships include a number in the NW, such as the Cumbria Coastal Line and Community Rail Lancashire which includes 5 related partnerships: - Clitheroe Line; East Lancashire; Leeds, Lancaster and Morecambe; South Fylde and West of Lanes. Additionally the Green Bus Fund has helped to support 4 new low carbon buses in Cumbria.
	Finally the Government has confirmed in the Spending Review that spending on buses will be protected for 2015/16, in recognition of the important role buses play as the backbone of the public transport system and key to a healthy, growing economy. Spending on buses plays an important role in providing transport in rural areas. The Government has also previously announced its intention to devolve around half of the existing Bus Service Operators Grant budget to local authorities to give them greater say over how that money should be spent. An announcement will be made very shortly on the final arrangements for implementing these changes.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) paid 61.5% of global invoices electronically and 29.2% of global invoices by cheque in May 2013. The residual balance is made up of small cash payments made by its overseas offices. The FCO's global operation means that payment of invoices is devolved to its overseas offices and therefore the average cost of processing the payment of an invoice on a global basis is not held centrally, and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
	In the UK, the FCO settles all invoices electronically. The average cost of processing an invoice for payment at the FCO's UK Corporate Service Centre in Milton Keynes is £2.53 for the month of May 2013.

British Overseas Territories

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which British Overseas Territories have ratified the Aarhus Convention to Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters.

Mark Simmonds: The UK's ratification of the Convention, which was deposited with the UN on 23 February 2005, does not currently extend to any of the UK Overseas Territories.

Human Rights: Business

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there is a confirmed date for the launch of the National Action Plan on business and human rights.

David Lidington: The UK action plan on business and human rights has been developed across Whitehall and in consultation with businesses, industry-led associations and civil society. We hope to launch it soon but do not yet have a confirmed date.

Human Trafficking

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with which countries the UK operates a joint investigation team to look into human trafficking.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The UK is currently operating five joint investigation teams with: Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Sweden.

Russia

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with the Olympic Association on the implications for holding the Winter Olympics at Sochi of the tightening of anti-gay laws in Russia.

David Lidington: I am deeply concerned by the recent decision of the Russian Federation Council to approve a Bill which bans the distribution of “gay propaganda”. This decision will further marginalise the LGBT community in Russia. I am also concerned by the draft law banning foreign adoptions by same-sex couples and by single people in countries where same-sex marriage is legal. The Prime Minister raised concerns on a wide range of human rights issues, including the rights of all people to freedom of expression, in his meeting with President Putin in London on 16 June.
	I have not had any discussions with the Olympic Association on this topic.

EDUCATION

Children: Human Trafficking

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to prevent the re-trafficking of child victims of trafficking placed in local authority care.

Edward Timpson: Local authorities have well-established child support arrangements in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in need of protection, including trafficked children. The arrangements also include preventing and mitigating the risk of them going missing from care.
	Local authorities work in close co-operation with the police and, where appropriate, the immigration service to support and provide protection for potentially trafficked children.
	To improve the care of looked-after children, the Government have embarked on a major programme of reform and as a result of this work, the following consultations have just been launched:
	1. A consultation to strengthen safeguarding in children's homes.
	2. A consultation to strengthen safeguards for looked-after children placed out of authority. This consultation also contains proposals to strengthen scrutiny of decisions to cease looking after 16 and 17-year-olds.
	3. A consultation on revised statutory guidance on children who run away and go missing from home or care. This final consultation includes specific advice on how to support and safeguard children who may have been trafficked, and to minimise the risk of these children potentially being re-trafficked.
	Further information can be found-on. the Department's website(1).
	The Government has also asked the Refugee Council and The Children's Society to carry out a review of the practical care arrangements for children in care who may have been trafficked, and we expect this to report shortly.
	(1 )https://www.education.gov.uk/consultations/

Children: Literacy

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many school children in each age cohort in England are judged to be illiterate; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The requested information is not held by the Department. The Department collects attainment information at the end of each key stage.
	The information on the number of pupils at the end of key stage 1 (aged 7) achieving each level in teacher assessments is available from our statistical first release “Phonics screening check and national curriculum assessments at key stage 1 in England: 2012”(1), “KS1,—national tables: SFR21/2012” link, table 13. The drop-down function at the top of the page allows you to view numbers and percentages.
	(1)Note:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phonics-screening-check-and-national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-1-in-england-2012
	The information on the number of pupils at the end of key stage 2 (aged 11) attaining different levels in tests and teacher assessments is available from our statistical first release “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2 in England: academic year 2011 to-2012”
	(2)
	, “National tables: SFR33/2012” link, tables 1 and 3. Table 1 provides an overall English level that pupils achieve at the end of key stage 2. Table 3 gives Reading and Writing test and teacher assessment results of pupils at the end of key stage 2. The drop-down function at the top of the page allows you to view numbers and percentages.
	(2)Note:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-in-england-academic-year-2011-to-2012
	The information on the number of pupils at the end of key stage 3 (aged 14) attaining different levels in teacher assessments is available from our statistical first release “Provisional GCSE and equivalent results and national curriculum teacher assessments at key stage 3 in England: academic year 2011 to 2012”(3), “Additional tables 1: SFR25/2012” link, table 1.
	(3)Note:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/provisional-gcse-and-equivalent-results-and-national-curriculum-teacher-assessments-at-key-stage-3-in-england-academic-year-2011-to-2012
	The number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 (aged 16) achieving A*-G grades in English GCSE, or another functional skills, key skills or basic skills qualification in English at Level 1 or above, was 591,768 (95.2% of the cohort).

GCSE: Disadvantaged Children

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of children who attained five or more GCSEs at A* to C grade at schools where (a) more than 50 per cent, (b) between 35 and 50 per cent, (c) between 21 and 35 per cent, (d) between 13 and 21 per cent, (e) between nine and 13 per cent, (f) between five and nine per cent and (g) fewer than five per cent of children were receiving free school meals in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			 Percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grade A*-C or equivalent(1) by percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM). Years: 2009/10 to 2011/12(2). Coverage: England, state-funded schools (including Academies and CTCs)(3) 
			  Percentage of all pupils achieving 5+ GCSEs at grade A*-C or equivalent at schools where percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals was 
			  Less than 5%(4) Greater than or equal to 5% but less than 9%(4) Greater than or equal to 9% but less than 13%(4) Greater than or equal to 13% but less than 21%(4) Greater than or equal to 21% but less than 35%(4) Greater than or equal to 35% but less than 50%(4) Greater than or equal to 50%(4) 
			 2009/10 83.7 78.6 73.8 72.8 70.3 65.1 62.4 
			 2010/11 86.9 82 80.4 78.4 76.1 70.3 66.1 
			 2011/12 88.8 84.3 83.1 81.9 79.9 73.4 65.5 
			 (1) From 2009/10 iGCSEs, accredited at time of publication, have been counted as GCSE equivalents. (2 )All figures are based on final data. (3) Includes pupils who have recently arrived from overseas. (4) Percentage of FSM pupils has been calculated from the number of eligible pupils at the end of key stage 4 attending schools who are eligible for FSM. Source: National Pupil Database

Languages: GCE A-level

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to encourage students to take a modern language subject through to A Level.

Elizabeth Truss: The introduction of the English Baccalaureate performance measure in 2010 was intended to encourage students to study a strong academic core, including a modern language, at GCSE. A survey conducted for the Department for Education by Ipsos Mori in 2012 estimates that 54% of all key stage 4 pupils are studying towards a language GCSE in 2014—up from 43% in 2010. This will provide a strong foundation for progression to study of modern languages through to A level and beyond.
	We are taking further steps to improve the teaching of modern foreign languages. From 2014, the teaching of languages at key stage 2 will be statutory, so that all pupils will have had a solid grounding in languages before they start secondary school. The new national curriculum programmes of study and GCSE subject content requirements will make sure that study of modern foreign languages, and of ancient languages, is appropriately challenging and fulfilling.

Languages: Teachers

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many primary school language teachers were recruited in each year since 2010; how many (a) primary teachers and (b) primary teaching assistants have been given training to teach foreign languages to their pupils since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The Department for Education does not collect information on teacher recruitment by schools for subject specialisms, or on how many teachers have received language training on the job or have language degrees or A-levels.
	The Department does not hold data on the employment, deployment or training of teaching assistants. Training for teaching assistants is determined locally and data on training will also be held locally.

Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the right hon. Member for Tooting (Sadiq Khan) on 10 June 2013, Official Report 130W.

Literacy: Primary Education

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils aged 11 met the standard of literacy for that age (a) in May 2010 and (b) on the latest date for which information is available.

David Laws: In 2012, the overall English level was calculated from reading test results and writing teacher assessment rather than from reading and writing tests as in previous years.
	The overall English level in 2012 is therefore not directly comparable to previous years. Information for 2012 on the levels achieved by pupils at the end of key stage 2 (aged 11) in tests and teacher assessments is published in our statistical first release, “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2 in England: academic year 2011 to 2012”, which can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-in-england-academic-year-2011-to-2012
	The relevant information is contained within the link “National tables: SFR33/2012“. Table 1 provides the overall level that pupils achieved in English at the end of key stage 2 in 2010 and 2012. Table 3 gives the reading and writing test and teacher assessment results of pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2012. This information for 2010 is available in our statistical first release “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2: England—academic year 2009 to 2010 (revised)”, which can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-england-academic-year-2009-to-2010-revised
	The relevant information is contained in table 3 within the link “National and local authority tables: SFR36/2010”.

Ministers' Private Offices

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will reduce the number of staff employed in his private ministerial office.

Elizabeth Truss: We have taken significant steps to reduce the cost of staffing the ministerial private office of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education.
	As shown in the following table, the annual cost of staffing the Secretary of State's ministerial private office has been reduced by more than £120,000 under this Government.
	
		
			 Financial year Staff cost (£) 
			 2012-13 499,976 
			 2011-12 586,539 
			 2010-11 531,491 
			 2009-10 623,966

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Elizabeth Truss: The following table provides the total spend that has been made by the Department in each of the last five years:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2008-09 3.542 
			 2009-10 1.864 
			 2010-11 4.485 
			 2011-12 2.894 
			 2012-13 0.704 
		
	
	There has been no spend on contracts with MITIE in the first two months of the 2013-14 financial year.
	Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder(1) information on the contracts they award. In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000.
	(1)www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/

Politics: Education

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department plans to make political education compulsory.

Elizabeth Truss: We have confirmed that citizenship will remain a compulsory subject within the national curriculum at key stages 3 and 4. The draft programmes of study which we published in February 2013 propose that pupils should be taught about politics, including voting, elections and the role of political parties. We are currently considering responses to the public consultation on those programmes of study, and will make a further announcement shortly.

Pupils

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many maintained schools have fewer than (a) 40, (b) 50, (c) 60, (d) 70, (e) 80, (f) 90 and (g) 100 pupils; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The number of schools broken down by pupil numbers is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of schools in England by pupil numbers (headcount)(1) 
			 School type Number of schools (a) Fewer than 40 pupils (b) Fewer than 50 pupils (c) Fewer than 60 pupils (d) Fewer than 70 pupils (e) Fewer than 80 pupils (f) Fewer than 90 pupils (g) Fewer than 100 pupils 
			 State-funded schools(2) 21,844 697 1,036 1,409 1,881 2,370 2,906 3,454 
			 of which:         
			 Local authority maintained mainstream schools(3) 17,835 296 546 824 1,168 1,545 1,968 2,423 
			 Local authority maintained special school 899 75 133 205 295 382 464 539 
			 Local authority maintained pupil referral unit 394 293 313 328 341 347 360 365 
			 (1) As at January 2013, pupils with sole or dual main registrations (also includes other and FE college registrations for pupils in pupil referral units and alternative provision academies/free schools). (2) Includes local authority maintained schools, nurseries and pupil referral units. Also includes direct grant nurseries, city technology colleges, academies, free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. (3) Includes local authority maintained nursery schools. Source: School Census

Disadvantaged Pupils

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department possesses on the proportion of students (a) on free school meals, (b) in families dependent on benefits, (c) considered to be from more deprived backgrounds as available indicators in (i) academies, (ii) free schools and (iii) comprehensive schools; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The School Census collects data for individual pupils in state-funded schools where they are known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals. To be entitled to free school meals pupils must be within a family in receipt of benefits, but the Department does not hold other data on the benefits that families receive or on other indicators of deprivation at student level. Information on the percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals was published in the publication “Schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2013”(1).
	Table 3a in that publication shows the percentage of pupils in state-funded primary and secondary schools known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals. Table 3c shows the percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in academies and free schools. Information on the number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals for each school is provided in that publication's underlying data. This includes school type and admissions policy.
	(1) Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average annual standard spending assessment is for each (a) primary school and (b) secondary school pupil in England; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The Department does not make an average annual standard spending assessment for school pupils. Local authorities receive a fixed amount of funding per pupil and use a local formula to decide funding allocations for the schools in their area. The fixed amount of per pupil funding currently differs for each local authority. We will consult on the introduction of a national funding formula for 2015-16 so that all pupils are funded on a comparable basis.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the total (a) local and (b) national government expenditure on each pupil in state secondary schools was in 2012-13 ; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: Local authorities receive a fixed amount of revenue funding per pupil and use a local formula to decide funding allocations for the schools in their area. The average amount allocated at a national level in 2012-13 to local authorities for pupils aged three to 15 was £5,083. The average amount allocated by local authorities to each pupil in maintained secondary schools in 2012-13 was £5,344.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his estimate is of the average expenditure on (a) secondary school places per pupil in the state sector and (b) secondary school places per day pupil in the independent sector; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The average amount allocated by local authorities to each pupil in maintained secondary schools in 2012-13 was £5,344. This excludes capital spending and the pupil premium.
	The Independent Schools Council 2013 census(1) provides information on the fees of its members on page 16. A copy will be placed in the House Library.
	(1)http://www.isc.co.uk/Resources/Independent%20Schools%20Council/Research%20Archive/Annual%20Census/2013_annualcensus_isc.pdf

Schools: Sports

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to encourage team sports in lower-performing schools and deprived areas; and what research his Department has carried out on a link between increased participation in sport at school and reduced crime rates.

Edward Timpson: The draft national curriculum programmes of study for physical education (PE) place a far greater emphasis on team and competitive sport in schools in all areas of the country. We have also introduced the School Games, which are encouraging greater participation in competitive sport across the country, both within and between schools.
	In March 2013 the Prime Minister announced additional ring-fenced funding of £150 million per annum to support provision of PE and sport in primary schools, including improving access to competitive team sports.
	The Department has not conducted any research into a link between increased participation in sport at school and reduced crime rates.

Schools: Sports

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of the removal of ring-fenced funding for school sports on the quality and quantity of sport provision and participation in school sports.

Edward Timpson: While the School Sports Partnerships were successful in helping some schools to raise participation levels in areas targeted by the previous Government, the proportion of pupils playing competitive sport regularly remained disappointingly low. Schools remain free to work in partnership to deliver physical education (PE) and sport for their pupils if they wish; they are merely no longer required to do so.
	The Department no longer collects data on the quality and quantity of sport provision and participation in school sports, as it placed a burden on schools that distracted them from the provision of PE and school sport. The recent Ofsted report, ‘Beyond 2012—outstanding physical education for all’, published in February 2013, recognised that there was more good and outstanding PE in schools than when their previous survey was published in 2008(1).
	In March 2013 the Prime Minister announced additional ring-fenced funding of £150 million per annum to support the provision of PE and sport in primary schools, including improving access to competitive team sports.
	(1)http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/beyond-2012-outstanding-physical-education-for-all

Schools: Sports

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what regulations are in place regarding compulsory sport and physical education in schools; and what initiatives his Department has in place to encourage (a) more girls to participate in school sports, (b) more sport to be played outdoors and (c) sports for school-leavers.

Edward Timpson: Section 78 of the Education Act 2002 requires all maintained schools to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. Similarly section 1(6) of the Academies Act 2010 requires academies to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. Under these regulations all maintained schools are required to follow the national curriculum in which physical education (PE) is, and will remain, compulsory at all four stages. This applies equally for boys and girls.
	We trust teachers to know what best suits the particular needs of their pupils, and do not prescribe whether physical activity should take place inside or outside.
	The Government have announced additional ring-fenced funding of £150 million per annum to improve provision of PE and sport in primary schools. The Department of Health is also funding the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation to build on the ‘Changing the Game for Girls’ programme.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Youth and Community Sport Strategy is delivering significant results, including better facilities and more opportunities for young people to play sport regularly beyond school. For example, Sportivate is a £56 million legacy programme that gives 14 to 25-year-olds access to coaching and encourages them to participate in sport beyond school and at local community sports clubs.

Serco

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008.

Elizabeth Truss: The following table provides the total spend that has been made by the Department in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			 Financial year Total spend (£million) 
			 2008-09 11.88 
			 2009-10 14.62 
			 2010-11 22.70 
			 2011-12 1.55 
			 2012-13 3.94 
		
	
	Total spend in the first two months of the 2013-14 financial year made by the Department is £215,711.90.
	Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder(1) information on the contracts they award. In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000.
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/

Standards and Testing Agency

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much the Chief Executive of the Standards and Testing Agency is paid.

Elizabeth Truss: The salary of the chief executive of the Standards and Testing Agency is published on the GOV.UK website as part of the Government's Transparency Agenda. This information has been placed in the House Library.
	http://reference.data.gov.uk/gov-structure/organogram/?dept=dfepost=DFE-1003

Standards and Testing Agency

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reason three deputy directors are employed by the Standards and Testing Agency; and what their annual salaries are.

Elizabeth Truss: The responsibilities of the three Deputy Directors are as follows:
	The Deputy Director for Test Development is responsible for developing statutory tests. This division comprises three units:
	psychometrics and assessment;
	test development research; and
	test development support and delivery.
	The division is accountable for producing valid and reliable tests that meet the purposes set out by Ministers. They are also responsible for setting standards on the tests, working closely with curriculum and assessment policy teams within the Department, and maintaining those standards in a rigorous and transparent way.
	The Deputy Director for Test Operations is responsible for delivering statutory tests, including the operational aspects of the test development process. This division is accountable for ensuring that test papers are printed and delivered into schools in sufficient time to administer the tests, marking processes are valid and produce reliable outcomes for pupils, and results are returned to schools by the deadline.
	The Deputy Director for Test Support is responsible for supporting stakeholders to deliver the tests and providing support services to other divisions within Standards and Testing Agency (STA). This division is made up of three units:
	test administration;
	moderation; and
	commercial.
	The test administration unit is responsible for developing guidance, ensuring that tests are administered appropriately in schools and managing relationships with external stakeholders, including Ofqual. The moderation unit supports moderation arrangements at Early Years Foundation Stage and key stage 1 to ensure the consistency and accuracy of teacher assessment data, and is responsible for supporting and implementing new arrangements for moderation at key stage 2. The commercial unit provides specialist services—such as security, procurement and contracts management—to support other units/divisions in the STA.
	In light of the DFE review and the challenging spending review process across central Government the STA will be consolidating to two divisions on 1 August 2013, reducing the number of Deputy Directors at the STA from three to two.
	To preserve the individual confidentiality of the Deputy Directors, a band rather than salary amount is provided as follows:
	
		
			 Deputy Director—Pay band 1 
			  £ 
			 Ceiling 117,800 
			 Cabinet Office Referral Point 90,000 
			 Minimum 58,200

Standards and Testing Agency

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff are employed at the Standards and Testing Agency; and what the annual staffing cost is of this body.

Elizabeth Truss: In 2012-13, the staffing costs for the Standards and Testing Agency were £5.1 million with 89 full-time equivalent staff employed. This is inclusive of wages, social security and pension costs.

CABINET OFFICE

Childbirth

Damian Hinds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information his Department (a) collects and (b) holds on the average age of mothers at the birth of their first child in each Government office region.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions on what information is (a) collected and (b) held on the average age of mothers at the birth of their first child in each Government office region [163064].
	Birth registration is a legal requirement under the Births and Deaths Registration Act (1836). The registration of births occurring in England and Wales is a service carried out by the Local Registration Service in partnership with the General Register Office (GRO), part of Her Majesty's Passport Office. Information collected at birth registration is recorded on a Registration Online (RON) system by Registrars. Most of the information is normally supplied by the parent(s). Birth registration data are supplied by GRO to the Office for National Statistics for statistical purposes.
	At birth registration in England and Wales, information is collected on the mother's age at the time of birth. However until late May 2012, information on previous children was only collected from mothers giving birth within marriage, so for births outside marriage (47% of alt births in 2011) it was not possible to identify whether a birth was a first or later birth to that mother. In order to estimate birth order for all births, ONS combines the data from birth registrations with survey data, enabling estimation of mean age at first birth at the national level. However it is not possible to produce robust estimates at regional level using this method, so the information requested does not exist.
	In 2011, the standardised mean age at first childbirth in England and Wales as a whole was 27.9 years. Since late May 2012, information on previous children has been collected from all mothers at birth registration, but this new information has not yet been published. The new data may enable a wider range of information on this topic at subnational level to be published in future but there are no plans for regional estimates at present.

Childbirth

Damian Hinds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information his Department (a) collects and (b) holds on the average birth weight of babies in each Government office region.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions on what information is (a) collected and (b) held on the average birthweight of babies in each Government office region [163065].
	Birth registration is a legal requirement under the Births and Deaths Registration Act (1836). The registration of births occurring in England and Wales is a service carried out by the Local Registration Service in partnership with the General Register Office (GRO), part of Her Majesty's Passport Office. Information collected at birth registration is recorded on a Registration Online (RON) system by Registrars. Most of the information is normally supplied by the parent(s). Birth registration data are supplied by GRO to the Office for National Statistics for statistical purposes.
	For live births, details of the birthweight are obtained from the birth notification (completed by the midwife or doctor in attendance at the birth). This information is then linked to the birth registration. For stillbirths, details of weight are taken from the medical certificate issued by a doctor or midwife. The certificate is supplied to the registrar by the informant and the weight is recorded electronically when the stillbirth is registered. If the birthweight is missing, but the registration is linked to the birth notification then the birthweight from the notification is taken.
	ONS publishes annual birth statistics showing the number and percentage of live births and stillbirths by birthweight and mother's region of usual residence in the Characteristics of Births 1 Package. Figures for 2011, the latest year, are available in tables 5 and 6 at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-272512
	ONS does not calculate average birthweight, however the tables included above provide an indication of the distribution of birthweight across the regions.

Freedom of Information

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he plans to publish the draft open government partnership national action plan.

Nick Hurd: The second iteration of the open government partnership (OGP) UK 2013 draft national action plan was published for consultation on 27 June 2013 at:
	http://data.gov.uk/library/national-action-plan
	The final OGP—UK 2013 national action plan will be published by the end of October 2013.
	Our first national action plan was published on 20 September 2011 and is available at:
	http://www.opengovpartnership.org/sites/www.opengovpartnership.org/files/country_action_plans/UnitedKingdom_actionPlan.doc

Voluntary Work

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 on the rate of volunteering in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people who volunteered in each month since September 2012; and what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in Scotland on plans to share best practice following the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Nick Hurd: We do not hold volunteering rates for the specified areas. However the Community Life Survey, which covers England, shows that the proportion of people volunteering at least once a year has now increased from 65% in 2010-11 to 72% in August 2012 to January 2013, with an even bigger increase in the proportion of people volunteering regularly. This shows a change in the culture of volunteering that is not limited to those who volunteered to make the Olympic and Paralympic games a success. Significantly, this survey data reverses the steady decline in volunteering seen since 2005.
	We are committed to promoting volunteering opportunities in sport as part of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games legacy.
	Join In, the Olympic and Paralympic legacy charity are also meeting with organisations in Scotland, including Glasgow 2014 to ensure the lessons of the volunteering legacy are embedded in Glasgow 2014.
	Join In will be hosting the Go Local event at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic park on 19 July which will bring together 2012 volunteers and ask them to inspire others to get involved in their community.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers in HM Armed Forces have access to a staff car.

Mark Francois: Full information on the access of military officers to staff cars is not yet available as we are in the process of implementing significant reforms in the use of Ministry of Defence provided cars and drivers to reduce costs. In the future, most eligible officers will share pool cars as, under the car reforms, only officers of 4-star rank are entitled to an allocated car and driver.

Armed Forces: Officers

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force were at (i) one star, (ii) two star, (iii) three star and (iv) four star rank; and what proportion of such posts formed the total strength of each service in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Francois: holding answer 11 June 2013
	Reductions are being made in the number of stars and the number of starred posts. A positive reduction has already been achieved and we are currently ahead of this year’s target, and only seven off the required reduction for 2015.
	It is important to note that senior officers work not only in Command positions, but Staff posts in organisations such as PJHQ, Defence Equipment and Support, the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency, Finance, Capability, and a whole range of posts where they are not commanding a unit, but carrying out a senior post within the Department.
	The following figures set out the trajectory of reduction planned in the number of one to four star officers.
	One to Four Star Officers
	1 April 2010:
	500 (rounded figure)
	1 April 2013:
	Projected level: 453
	Actual: 436
	1 April 2015:
	Projected level: 429
	1 April 2020:
	Projected level: 405
	The following tables show the number of armed forces personnel by one, two, three and four star rank, by service, and the proportion of such posts compared to total strength in each year between 2004 and 2013:
	
		
			 Strength of naval service (comprising the Royal Navy, the Queens Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service and the Royal Marines) by rank—one star and above 
			  At April each year: 
			  2004 % of total strength 2005 % of total strength 2006 % of total strength 2007 % of total strength 2008 % of total strength 
			 One star 100 0.24 80 0.21 80 0.20 80 0.19 80 0.20 
			 Two star 29 0.07 36 0.09 33 0.08 33 0.08 32 0.08 
			 Three star 7 0.02 7 0.02 9 0.02 8 0.02 6 0.02 
			 Four star 4 — 3 — 4 — 3 — 3 — 
			 Total strength 40,880  39,940  39,390  38,850  38,560  
		
	
	
		
			  At April each year: 
			  2009 % of total strength 2010 % of total strength 2011 % of total strength 2012 % of total strength 2013 % of total strength 
			 One star 80 0.22 80 0.22 80 0.21 80 0.23 80 0.22 
			 Two star 34 0.09 29 0.07 33 0.09 31 0.09 30 0.09 
			 Three star 6 0.02 9 0.02 7 0.02 8 0.02 9 0.03 
			 Four Star 2 — 2 — 2 — 2 — 2 — 
			 Total strength 38,340  38,730  37,660  35,540  33,960  
		
	
	
		
			 Strength of Army by rank—one star and above 
			  At April each year: 
			  2004 % of total strength 2005 % of total strength 2006 % of total strength 2007 % of total strength 2008 % of total strength 
			 One star 180 0.16 180 0.16 180 0.17 180 0.17 180 0.17 
			 Two star 42 0.04 46 0.04 43 0.04 42 0.04 44 0.04 
			 Three star 10 0.01 11 0.01 9 0.01 12 0.01 16 0.02 
			 Four star 6 0.01 7 0.01 8 0.01 6 0.01 6 0.01 
			 Total strength 112,750  109,290  107,730  106,340  104,980  
		
	
	
		
			  At April each year: 
			  2009 % of total strength 2010 % of total strength 2011 % of total strength 2012 % of total strength 2013 % of total strength 
			 One star 190 0.18 180 0.17 170 0.16 170 0.16 150 0.15 
			 Two star 43 0.04 40 0.04 43 0.04 42 0.04 44 0.04 
			 Three star 17 0.02 14 0.01 9 0.01 9 0.01 10 0.01 
			 Four star 5 — 5 — 6 0.01 5 — 5 0.01 
			 Total strength 106,700  108,920  106,240  104,250  99,730  
		
	
	
		
			 Strength of Air Force by rank—one star and above 
			  At April each year: 
			  2004 % of total strength 2005 % of total strength 2006 % of total strength 2007 % of total strength 2008 % of total strength 
			 One star 90 0.17 90 0.18 90 0.19 100 0.21 100 0.22 
			 Two star 34 0.06 27 0.05 27 0.06 30 0.07 25 0.06 
			 Three star 4 — 8 0.02 8 0.02 6 0.01 6 0.01 
			 Four star 4 — 4 — 2 — 4 — 3 — 
			 Total strength 53,390  51,870  48,730  45,480  43,370  
		
	
	
		
			  At April each year: 
			  2009 % of total strength 2010 % of total strength 2011 % of total strength 2012 % of total strength 2013 % of total strength 
			 One star 90 0.21 90 0.21 90 0.21 80 0.20 80 0.20 
			 Two star 24 0.06 26 0.06 26 0.06 28 0.07 23 0.06 
			 Three star 9 0.02 8 0.02 8 0.02 8 0.02 9 0.02 
			 Four star 3 — 3 — 3 — 3 — 2 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Total strength 43,560  44,050  42,460  40,000  37,030  
			 Notes: 1. “Total strength” comprises trained and untrained UK Regular Forces and excludes Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service personnel and mobilised reservists. 2. Percentages are percentage of total strength per service. 3. Percentages are not calculated where strength numbers are lower than five. 4. Figures for total strength and one star personnel are rounded to the nearest 10. 5. Strengths for senior officers at two, three and four star level have been left unrounded so as not to obscure the data. 6. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. 7. Percentages are calculated from unrounded data.

Armed Forces: Railways

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on how many service personnel in Liverpool are currently entitled to an HM Forces Railcard.

Mark Francois: All members of the regular armed forces and reservists undertaking full-time or permanent service are entitled to an HM Forces Railcard.
	As at 1 April 2013 there were 110 Regular and full-time reserve service personnel serving in the Liverpool area.
	Notes:
	1. This figure represents the number of personnel stationed in the Liverpool area, and may differ from the actual number of personnel working at that location e.g. due to deployment.
	2. The number has been rounded to prevent systematic bias.

Army: Recruitment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the closure of Rhyl Army Recruitment Centre.

Mark Francois: The Rhyl Recruiting Clinic closed on 14 March 2013, as part of the wider reduction in the number of army recruiting offices across the UK. The hall where the office was collocated was formerly used by the Territorial Army and will continue to be used by cadets. The senior careers advisor in Wrexham is retaining a point of presence in Rhyl in order to make it easier for potential recruits to gain information and attend interviews. This service operates from a civilian employment agency on a Tuesday morning.
	The nearest permanent Army Recruiting Centres to Rhyl are located at Bangor and Wrexham.

NATO

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, columns 31-49, on NATO, when the performance report on the supply of fuels to NATO forces in Afghanistan was published; what its key findings were; and what actions have since been taken by (a) the UK and (b) the NATO Secretariat to ensure that the findings are implemented.

Andrew Robathan: The report was issued by the International Board of Auditors on 24 September 2012 and its key findings were:
	that a high-risk cost-plus arrangement was established without the management and control mechanism necessary to police it;
	that there was a failure to both validate charges raised by the contractor and to verify that invoices were in line with the contract conditions; and
	that payments to the contractor were made which went beyond those mandated in the written contract.
	As a strong proponent of accountable and effective governance, best practice in budgetary control and financial management in NATO, the UK is extremely concerned at the serious nature of the audit findings. NATO has established a formal Board of Inquiry to investigate further the reasons behind the failings in governance and control, and to recommend improvements to working practices and procedures to prevent a recurrence. The Board of Inquiry report is awaited and the UK will judge our next steps in the light of its findings. We expect those responsible to be held fully to account, and action taken to prevent similar problems arising in the future.

Nuclear Submarines

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2013, Official Report, column 719W on HMS Tireless, on how many occasions radioactive emissions were vented to the atmosphere from nuclear powered submarines at Devonport Dockyard in each of the last five years; what quantity of radioactivity and which radionuclides were emitted in such fashion in each of the last three years; what the permitted levels of discharge are under such circumstances; and which regulatory agency sets such limits.

Philip Dunne: I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Official Cars

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many lease cars his Department has in service; and what the annual cost is of each such car.

Philip Dunne: The cost to the Ministry of Defence of providing the total number of individual lease cars in service globally and the annual cost of each such car is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many location of work codes on DEFFORM 57 indicate that contracts were located in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland; and if he will estimate the value of each such contract in each of the last five years;
	(2)  since what date the location of work codes have been collected on the DEFFORM 57;
	(3)  whether his Department collects information on where the work of signed contracts and sub-contracts on DEFFORM 57 take place and on the value of each such contract.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 13 May 2013
	As part of this Government’s commitment to increase transparency, details of Ministry of Defence procurements valued at over £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder:
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk

Science and Technology

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's budget will be spent on science and technology in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

Philip Dunne: The Department's plans for funding the centralised Ministry of Defence Science and Technology Programme, under the Department's chief scientific adviser, as a proportion of the Department's budget, equate to 1.2%, 1.3% and 1.3% in financial years 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively, meeting our intention to sustain science and technology investment at a minimum of 1.2% of the Defence budget.

Warships

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost is of building and equipping for sea a (a) minesweeper, (b) destroyer, (c) frigate, (d) nuclear submarine and (e) Trident-equipped submarine; how many such vessels are in active service; and when each such vessel was commissioned.

Philip Dunne: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	The costs provided are based on actual costs at the time they were incurred and therefore do not reflect current build costs. They cover those vessels that have achieved their In Service Date (ISD). Total costs of equipping the platforms (which is an ongoing process through life), including those associated with Government Furnished Equipment, are not held centrally and could be provided at only disproportionate cost,
	ISDs have been provided as they more accurately reflect a ship's availability for ‘active service’ than commissioning dates.
	
		
			 Mine Countermeasure Vessels 
			  In service date Build cost (£ million)(1) 
			 Hunt Class   
			 HMS Ledbury May 1981 31 
			 HMS Cattistock May 1982 32 
			 HMS Brocklesby October 1982 34 
			 HMS Middleton July 1984 36 
			 HMS Chiddingfold July 1984 37 
			 HMS Hurworth June 1985 39 
			 HMS Atherstone December 1986 42 
			 HMS Quorn January 1989 46 
			    
			 Sandown Class   
			 HMS Penzance January 1998 49 
		
	
	
		
			 HMS Pembroke September 1998 48 
			 HMS Grimsby May 1999 48 
			 HMS Bangor December 1999 47 
			 HMS Ramsey July 2000 44 
			 HMS Blyth February 2001 44 
			 HMS Shoreham November 2001 45 
			 (1) The figures quoted above do not represent the total cost of the vessels. Some figures, such as those for Government Furnished Equipment, are no longer held centrally for each ship and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	
		
			 Type 45 Destroyers 
			  In service date 
			 HMS Daring July 2010 
			 HMS Dauntless November 2010 
			 HMS Diamond August 2011 
			 HMS Dragon April 2012 
			 HMS Defender March 2013 
		
	
	HMS Duncan, the final ship in class, is expected to achieve her ISD in March 2014.
	The unit production cost for a T45 is £633 million. This figure includes the cost of the T45 platform and the Sea Viper missile system, but does not include the development costs of the T45 programme.
	
		
			 Type 23 Frigates 
			  In service date Build cost (£ million)(1) 
			 HMS Argyll November 1992 119 
			 HMS Lancaster February 1993 120 
			 HMS Iron Duke November 1993 110 
			 HMS Monmouth March 1994 112 
			 HMS Westminster March 1995 113 
			 HMS Montrose September 1995 117 
			 HMS Northumberland October 1995 115 
			 HMS Richmond July 1996 116 
			 HMS Somerset February 1997 114 
			 HMS Sutherland December 1997 144 
			 HMS Kent December 2000 108 
			 HMS Portland September 2001 92 
			 HMS St Albans September 2002 107 
			 (1) The figures quoted above do not represent the total cost of the vessels. Some figures, such as those for Government Furnished Equipment, are no longer held centrally for each ship and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	
		
			 Trafalgar Class submarines 
			  In service date 
			 HMS Tireless October 1985 
			 HMS Torbay March 1987 
			 HMS Trenchant February 1989 
			 HMS Talent May 1990 
			 HMS Triumph November 1991 
		
	
	The build costs of these vessels are no longer held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Astute Class submarines
	The first two (of seven) Astute Class submarines have achieved their ISD.
	
		
			  In service date 
			 HMS Astute April 2010 
			 HMS Ambush November 2012 
		
	
	HMS Artful, the third boat in class, is currently in build.
	There is no unit cost for an Astute Class submarine as Boats one to three (Astute, Ambush, and Artful) were contracted as a batch with a total forecast cost of £3.4 billion, which includes cost of building the boats, the onboard communications system, and the tactical weapons system.
	
		
			 Vanguard Class submarines 
			  In service date 
			 HMS Vanguard August 1992 
			 HMS Victorious March 1994 
			 HMS Vigilant February 1996 
			 HMS Vengeance March 1999 
		
	
	The total procurement cost for the four submarines was £3,587 million, which equates to approximately £897 million per submarine. This figure excludes the costs of the tactical and strategic weapons systems.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Alcoholic Drinks: Marketing

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the amount spent by the alcohol industry on the promotion of alcohol.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 1 July 2013
	Ofcom recently published data on alcohol advertising spend, as part of its May 2013 report, “Children's and young people's exposure to alcohol advertising, 2007-11”. The total amount spent on alcohol advertising across all media was £179.4 million in 2011, representing 1.9% of total UK advertising expenditure.
	The full report is available at:
	http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/tv-research/1100204/Alcohol_Report_2013.pdf

Apprentices

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 22 April 2013, Official Report, column 668W, on apprentices, how many apprentices her Department plans to employ.

Hugh Robertson: DCMS will take part in the Civil Service Apprenticeship scheme, from September 2013. As the scheme is managed centrally and the matching process has yet to take place, we do not have confirmation of how many apprentices will join DCMS, at the current time.
	DCMS is committed to supporting social mobility and has also employed three interns this year, as part of the Summer Diversity Internship programme.

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans her Department has to hire industry experts to complete the rollout of broadband; what estimate she has made of the cost of hiring such experts; and whether such experts would be additional to the civil servants in her Department already working on the project.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 1 July 2013
	Broadband Delivery UK already has industry specialists within its ranks. These are additional to the civil servants working on the project. In the spending review the Government has announced that Broadband Delivery UK will be given greater operational freedom and an enhanced delivery focus, and will be equipped with the commercial skills it needs to deliver a broadband programme that will now extend to at least 2017. Lord Deighton will work with DCMS to determine how the new delivery model should be implemented.

Broadband Delivery UK

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the funding required by Broadband Delivery UK.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 1 July 2013
	The question does not make clear whether the hon. Member is referring to the funding required by Broadband Delivery UK in order for it to carry out its responsibilities or the funding being channelled through Broadband Delivery UK to help deliver a transformation in broadband provision in the UK. If the hon. Member wishes to clarify her question, I would be very happy to provide her with an answer.

Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which of the recommendations of the Leveson report have been fully implemented by the Government.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 27 June 2013
	Lord Justice Leveson's report (HC779) made findings and recommendations in three areas: on the relationship between the press and the police; on the relationship between the press and politicians; and on the relationship between the press and the public.
	On the relationship between the press and the police, the Secretary of State for the Home Department made clear in her statement to the House in respect of police integrity on 12 February 2013, Official Report, columns 713-15, the Government accept Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations and will be working closely with the College of Policing, Chiefs' Council, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Independent Police Complaints Commission on implementation.
	On the relationship between the press and politicians, as recommended by Lord Justice Leveson, the Government publish details of meetings held by Ministers and/or special advisers with editors, proprietors and senior media executives.
	On the relationship between the press and the public, a cross-party Royal Charter was agreed on 18 March.

Exercise: Young Offenders Institutions

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding her Department provides and for which programmes to facilitate sports and physical activities in young offenders institutions in the UK.

Hugh Robertson: Sport England is investing £62.9 million in two projects, which work directly with young offenders and young offenders institutions between 2011 and 2017. Through Sportivate, £56 million of lottery funding is being invested over the period 2011-17. As part of this investment, Sportivate has delivered around 20 projects for young offenders, working with both probation services and directly with young offenders institutions. Through Get on Track, Sport England is investing £6.9 million of lottery funding over the period 2012-17. Around 10% of the young people engaged in Get On Track have had criminal convictions. Youth offending teams are key local partners in all areas where Get On Track projects are delivered.

Press: Regulation

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will reopen negotiations on the cross-party Royal Charter agreed on 18 March 2013.

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, column 434W, whose agreement is needed for the reopening of cross-party discussions on the Royal Charter; and whether she received any indications from any such people that such a reopening is sought.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 27 June 2013
	Cross-party discussions on the Royal Charter concluded on 18 March. The Government has no plans to reopen these discussions.

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

Hugh Robertson: The Departmental for Culture, Media and Sport has spent £9,244.49 on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last twelve months (July 2012 to the end of June 2013).

Tourism: Inverclyde

Iain McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will support the emerging tourist industry in Inverclyde.

Hugh Robertson: Tourism is a devolved matter, but places like Inverclyde, which is already benefitting from the expanding cruise ship industry, benefit greatly from VisitBritain's international campaigns, including ‘GREAT’, and from VisitEngland's ‘Holidays at Home are GREAT’ campaign. Additional information on the initiatives led by VisitScotland can be found on their website:
	www.visitscotland.co.uk

Tourism: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of tourism to the rural economy; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the rural economy, worth over £33 billion in turnover a year and accounting for around 13% of rural employment. The Rural Economy Growth Review launched a £25 million package, aimed at growing the visitor economy in rural areas. As part of this package, Visit England estimate their promotional activity will create over 6000 extra jobs and £260 million in additional visitor spend and will provide an initial assessment in the autumn.

JUSTICE

Criminal Justice

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to modernise the criminal justice system.

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to modernise the criminal justice system.

Damian Green: On 28 June I published “Transforming the CJS”, a strategy and action plan to reform the Criminal Justice System.
	It sets out a number of steps to digitise the CJS, tackle the root causes of waste and delay in the system, and offer better support for victims and witnesses as their case progresses through the system.

Prison Privileges and Incentives

Gavin Barwell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress he has made on rolling out his proposed changes to the privileges and incentive scheme in prisons.

Jeremy Wright: The overhaul of the incentives and earned privileges scheme will come into effect on 1 November. The processes that will underpin the changes are currently being developed. We have, however, already removed “18” rated DVDs and informed contracted out prisons that subscription television services must be withdrawn by 31 July. In addition, we have begun work to consider a revised system of incentives and privileges for young people in custody.

Pleural Plaques: Compensation

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received on compensation for people with pleural plaques.

Helen Grant: We have received a small number of recent representations on pleural plaques from Members of Parliament sent on behalf of their constituents.

Cautions

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress he has made on his review of the use of cautions; and when he plans to publish the results of that review.

Damian Green: We are clear there must be no soft alternative for serious offenders who should be brought before the courts. That is why the Government launched its review into how simple cautions are used by the police on 3 April. The review has completed its work and reported to Ministers. Proposals will be brought forward in due course.

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance he has given to law enforcement and prosecuting authorities on not proceeding with a prosecution or imposing a penalty in cases where victims of trafficking have been compelled to take part in criminal activities.

Oliver Heald: I have been asked to reply.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has issued comprehensive legal guidance to advise prosecutors of the steps they should take in cases where the police have arrested potential victims of trafficking who have committed criminal offences and referred them for charge. If information suggests that they have been trafficked, prosecutors are advised to make full enquiries and consider whether the case against them should be discontinued. However, a prosecutor can only take these steps if they have information from the police or other sources that a suspect might be a victim of trafficking.
	Following recent cases in the Court of Appeal in which victims of trafficking were prosecuted and convicted, having been advised to plead guilty by their legal representative, the CPS is considering new guidelines for prosecutors, which are to be shared with the police and other law enforcement agencies and the Law Society to ensure a more joined-up approach in these cases.
	Guidance, published in 2011 by the Child Exploitation and On-line Protection Centre (CEOP), advises that police should be alert to the possibility that any person, adult or child, identified in a cannabis farm could be a victim of trafficking and the steps that they should take.

Prisoners

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  for how long each person held in a segregation unit in each prison on 1 June 2013 had been held in segregation;
	(2)  how many prisoners were held in segregation units in each prison on the first day of each month in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not recorded centrally. It could be provided only at disproportionate cost by collating the relevant information from segregation records held by individual prison establishments.
	Prisoners may be held in segregation for reasons of good order and discipline or for their own protection. They may also be segregated to await adjudication or as a punishment of cellular confinement for offences against prison discipline. Segregation is used only in circumstances which are lawful, safe and decent.

Woodhill Prison

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements are in place for expert witnesses to conduct interviews with prisoners in private at Close Supervision Centre, HM Prison Woodhill; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: Prisons will always try and accommodate the requirements of expert witnesses. Operational constraints, including the limited availability of the expert witnesses or requests for interviews made at short notice may mean this is not always possible.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Gregory Barker: The average cost of processing an invoice is calculated to be £2.60.
	In the 12 month period to the end of May 2013: (a) 6,900 electronic payments (99.77%) were made and (b) 16 cheque payments (0.23%).

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2013, Official Report, columns 622-3W, on fuel poverty, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in receipt of assistance under (a) Warm Front, (b) the super priority group of the carbon emissions reduction target, (c) the Community Energy Saving programme and (d) the voluntary agreement to support vulnerable and fuel poor households in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10, (iii) 2010-11, (iv) 2011-12 and (v) 2012-13.

Gregory Barker: Under the Warm Front scheme, the number of households assisted with thermal efficiency measures or energy saving advice was (i) 233,594 in 2008-09 from a budget of £395 million; (ii) 212,963 in 2009-10 from a budget of £369 million; (iii) 127,930 in 2010-11 from a budget of £366 million; (iv) 33,058 in 2011-12 from a budget of £145 million; while it is expected that around 35,000 households will be assisted from applications received in 2012-13, from a budget of £100 million.
	Estimates of the number of households receiving assistance under the Super Priority Group (SPG) of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) are not readily available, however the final Ofgem report on CERT(1) showed that over the lifetime of the scheme from 2008-12, SPG eligible households received a significant number of major energy efficiency measures, including: the insulation of 237,692 cavity walled properties; the professional insulation of 531,932 lofts; the insulation of 8,229 solid walled properties; and. the replacement of 6,506 inefficient boilers with more efficient models. Ofgem are currently reviewing additional information from obligated energy companies which may identify that a greater number of measures delivered under CERT were in SPG eligible households.
	(1)Note:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/EnergyEff/Documents1/CERT_FinalReport2013_300413.pdf
	Estimates of the number of households assisted with energy efficiency measures under the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) are not readily available by year, but the final Ofgem report on CESP
	(2)
	showed that over the lifetime of the scheme from 2009-12 a total of 293,922 measures were installed in 154,364 dwellings in low income areas.
	(2)Note:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/EnergyEff/cesp/Documents1/CESP%20Final%20Report%202013_FINAL%20300413.pdf
	Under the Voluntary Agreement, the number of customer accounts—where some households may hold more than one account—benefiting from social tariffs, discounts and rebates was: (i) around 1.3 million at the end of March 2009(3); (ii) around 1.6 million at the end of March 2010(4); and (iii) around 1.9 million at the end of March 2011(5). The Voluntary Agreement ended in March 2011 and was replaced by the Warm Home Discount scheme which supports around 2 million low income and vulnerable households per year.
	(3)Note:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/SocAction/Suppliers/CSR/Documents1/Monitoring%20Suppliers%20Social%20Spend%202009-10.pdf
	(4)Note:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/SocAction/Suppliers/CSR/Documents1/Monitoring%20Suppliers%20Social%20Spend%202009-10.pdf
	(5)Note:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/SocAction/Suppliers/CSR/Documents1/Suppliers%20Social%20Spend%20report%202010-2011.pdf

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Green Deal assessments have been carried out (a) free of charge and (b) at a subsidised cost to date.

Gregory Barker: DECC does not hold information on the cost of individual Green Deal assessments. The costs charged for assessments are a matter for the companies or individuals providing them.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many of the 245 Green Deal plans currently active were taken out following free Green Deal assessments.

Gregory Barker: DECC does not hold information on the cost of individual Green Deal assessments. The costs charged for assessments are a matter for the companies or individuals providing them.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households have installed energy efficiency measures recommended by a Green Deal Assessment without taking out a Green Deal finance package to date.

Gregory Barker: Households are not required to inform Government of energy efficiency measures installed following a Green Deal Assessment which the householder has funded through options other than a Green Deal Plan.
	Cashback applicants are required to carry out a Green Deal Assessment before applying for a voucher. The Department collects data on the Cashback scheme and 968 cashback vouchers had been paid, following the installation of measures, to individual households up to 16 June with them choosing an alternative funding option to a Green Deal Plan.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households have claimed Green Deal cashback benefits without signing up for a Green Deal finance package to date.

Gregory Barker: 968 cashback vouchers (with a total value of £263,452) had been paid, following the installation of measures, to individual households up to 16 June with them choosing an alternative funding option to a Green Deal Plan.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households have installed energy efficiency measures recommended by a Green Deal assessment with assistance under the Energy Company Obligation but without taking out a Green Deal finance package.

Gregory Barker: Under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) framework, it is not a requirement for energy suppliers to lodge a Green Deal assessment for measures installed under ECO. Provisional figures published on 27 June showed that there were 81,798 measures installed in 72,525 households under ECO up to the end of April.

Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: In 2011-12, the Department paid £7.7 million to firms of solicitors external to government.
	Further information covering sums paid above £500 is available on the DECC website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/departmental-spend-over-500

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Gregory Barker: The Department does not have a contract with MITIE and has not incurred any expenditure with this organisation.

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

Gregory Barker: The Department spent £25,000 on its electronic press cuttings service during the 12 months period ending March 2013. The equivalent expenditure in the 12 months April 2010 to March 2011 was £80,000.
	The Department does not record expenditure on newspapers, periodicals and trade profession magazines separately from overall expenditure on publications which includes the cost of the Department's own publications as well as purchased publications of all types. It would incur disproportionate costs to scrutinise all publication transactions to identify relevant amounts.

Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months.

Gregory Barker: The Department records the ill health absence for its staff on a quarterly basis. The average working days lost per pay grade, for each of the past four quarters for which data is available, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Pay Grade June 2012 September 2012 December 2012 March 2013 
			 AO 8.2 6.3 1 8.7 
			 EO 8.3 5.2 5.1 5.9 
			 HEO 3.8 3.2 3 3.5 
			 SEO 4.2 3.5 2.9 8.7 
			 Grade 7 2.2 2.1 1.7 3.2 
			 Grade 6 2.2 2.4 2.1 0.7 
			 SCS 1.7 0.8 0.1 0.1

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Gregory Barker: The Department spent £553,000 in the 12 months period ending March 2013 with recruitment agencies. The majority of this expenditure represents payment to the individuals employed. We are unable to separately identify the element retained by the recruitment agency as fees. This varies from case to case and the Department contracts on the basis of a total hourly or daily fee.
	The Department made no fees to outplacement agencies and we use the Civil Service Transition Service to provide our redeployment support.
	£1.3 million was spent on staff training and development in the 12 months period ending March 2013.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Gregory Barker: The vacancy rate for the Department in 2012-13 was 14.03% and the assumed rate for 2013-14 is 5%.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

World War I: Anniversaries

Keith Simpson: To ask the honourable Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what plans the Church of England has to commemorate the First World War and the role of military chaplains.

Tony Baldry: The Church of England is represented on the Government’s First World War Commemorations Advisory Group by the Dean of Salisbury. The Dean and the Church of England have been in contact with the Assistant Chaplain-General and Archdeacon for the army to discuss commemorations. It is our understanding that specific commemorations relating to the role of military chaplains will be managed by regiments and corps rather than centrally by the Church of England. Military Chaplains will of course be remembered and commemorated alongside all those who gave their lives and service during the great war.
	The Church of England and Westminster Abbey are planning alongside the Government and other partners a number of commemorations the first of which will be a number of candlelit vigils across the country with the participation of the other faith communities, ending at 11.00 pm on 4 August 2014–100 years after war was declared and reflecting Sir Edward Grey’s famous remark that “the lamps are going out all over Europe”.
	The Liturgical Commission of the Church of England has assembled resources to assist parish churches both in sharing in the planned vigil and also for use throughout the several years of commemoration. The Church Buildings Council of the Church of England is working with the Imperial War Museum on a number of initiatives to help congregations and the wider community engage with war memorial heritage in churches.